FINDINGS

Abortion's Legality Appears Not to Affect Rates

Women are just as likely to get an abortion in countries where it is outlawed as where it is legal, researchers reported today.

In a study examining abortion trends from 1995 to 2003, experts also found that abortion rates are virtually equal in rich and poor countries, and that half of all abortions worldwide are unsafe.

The study was done by Gilda Sedgh of the Guttmacher Institute and colleagues from the World Health Organization. It was published in the journal The Lancet.

Abortion accounts for 13 percent of maternal mortality worldwide, with about 70,000 women dying every year from unsafe abortions.

The number of worldwide abortions has dipped from about 46 million in 1995 to slightly less than 42 million in 2003.

Europe has both the highest and lowest rates of abortion. In Eastern Europe, there are more abortions than live births, but in Western Europe, there are 12 abortions a year for every 1,000 women. In North America, there are about 21 abortions for every 1,000 women.

33% Say Arthritis Limits Their Ability to Work

About a third of adults with arthritis say the condition -- the nation's leading cause of disability -- has limited their ability to work, the government said yesterday.

A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey found that 33 percent of workers with arthritis suffered work limitations in 2003, the latest data available. In Kentucky, slightly more than half of arthritis sufferers reported work limitations. Nevada had the lowest percentage, with about a fourth of adults saying their work was limited.

The study is the first to provide a state-by-state breakdown on the impact of arthritis in the workplace. Arthritis comprises more than 100 different conditions, affecting an estimated 46 million Americans. Symptoms generally include pain, aching, stiffness and swelling in or around the joints.

Overall, nearly 7 percent of all working adults in U.S. states experienced arthritis-related workplace limitations. Kentucky had the highest percentage of workers, 15 percent, with such limitations, followed by about 3 percent of workers in Hawaii, the CDC study said.

Indian Researchers Crack a Sticky Problem

How do you make a tape that doesn't lose its grip when it is peeled off and reused?

Tree frogs, crickets and some other animals have mastered the problem, so researchers in India thought they ought to be able to figure it out, and they did, they report today in the journal Science.