On December 14th 2012, 20 young children and six adults were killed by a lone gunman at Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut. Without a clearer understanding of why such events occur and how to avoid them, future action can only be based on ill-informed speculation rather than evidence. Sadly, the leading US research agency addressing gun safety and control was prevented from continuing this work in 1996. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still have a clause in their appropriations bill -- the "Dickey Amendment" -- that states: "none of the funds made available for injury prevention and control at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention may be used, in whole or in part, to advocate or promote gun control" This provision now extends to all research funded through the US Department of Health and Human Security. Sources and additional resources: United States gun facts, figures and the law: http://www.gunpolicy.org/firearms/region/united-states CDC Fastfacts: Homicide: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/homicide.htm Who calls the shots: Nature 488:129, August 8 2012: http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v488/n7410/full/488129a.html
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Research published in the New England Journal of Medicine shows an association between the average amount of chocolate each person in country eats, and the number of Nobel Prize winners that country produces. But as the author points out, an association doesn't necessarily mean that eating chocolate
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