Sudden Infant Death Linked to Bacteria

There's a good chance it's fecal matter: study

(NEWSER) - If you’re reading this on your smartphone, you might want to go wash your hands now: A new study out of London finds that one out of six cellphones has fecal matter on it. UK researchers swabbed 390 mobile phones and the British hands that used them, and found that 16% of both were contaminated with E. coli bacteria—which, yes, comes from poop, Time reports. More»

10 babies have died in 3 years

(NEWSER) - Families living at the Ft. Bragg Army base have suffered undue numbers of infant deaths, prompting military authorities to begin an investigation. Ten infants have died from unknown causes since 2007—three in the same house, the LA Times reports. "There has to be something in that house that's causing healthy babies to get sick and die," said Bianca Outlaw, 20, the mother of one of the dead infants. More»

10 babies have died at base since 2007

(NEWSER) - Ten babies under the age of eight months have died suddenly in military housing at Fort Bragg since early 2007, and investigators haven't been able to figure out why. Officials don't suspect foul play, but are looking into environmental conditions, structural factors and hazardous materials as possible causes, the Los Angeles Times reports. More»

(NEWSER) - A column suggesting that housecats murder babies out of jealousy has earned the Houston Chronicle a lot of, well, catcalls. It's not true, the paper now reports. “It’s funny that someone would still actually think that is true,” said a veterinarian and SPCA official. “That is a very old wives’ tale that has since been debunked.” Leaving infants unsupervised with any animal is unwise, but cats to not present a homicidal threat. More»

72% fewer SIDS deaths in bedrooms with better air circulation

(NEWSER) - A simple fan could be the key to reducing the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, reports ABC News. Researchers discovered that babies who slept in a room with a fan were 72% less likely to die from SIDS, according to the study published in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. Experts speculated that the fan might prevent the baby from "rebreathing" carbon-dioxide, thought to be a major cause of SIDS. More»