A star becomes an asteroid
Nothing like getting your own asteroid. Just ask former Star Trek star George Takei. The International Astronomical Union's Committee on Small Body Nomenclature this week approved renaming a celestial rock between Mars and Jupiter 7307 Takei in honor of the actor best known for his role as Captain Kirk'ssteadfast helmsman Hiakru Sulu in the original Star Trek TV series and movies. The asteroid, formerly dubbed 1994 GT9, was discovered by two Japanese astronomers 13 years ago. Takei joins Trek creator Gene Roddenberry (4659 Roddenberry) and Nichelle Nichols (68410 Nichols), who played Lt. Uhura in the original series, in having a space rock named after him. "I am now a heavenly body," Takei, 71, told the Associated Press with a chuckle, noting that when he heard the news he was "blown away. It came out of the clear, blue sky, just like an asteroid." (AP)

Bush nixes health insurance for kids
President Bush this week infuriated child advocates and many members of his own political base by vetoing legislation designed to provide health insurance coverage for millions of U.S. children. Bush told a Pennsylvania business group that he rejected the initiative, because the Democratic-controlled Congress was trying to "federalize health care." Some nine million of the nation's children currently do not have health insurance. The bill was aimed at bumping up enrollment from 6.6 million to around 10 million in a popular federal health care program for children of families that earn too much to qualify for Medicaid yet cannot afford hefty private insurance fees. The measure would have pumped about $7 billion more annually over five years into the program, which currently receives about $5 billion annually. This was Bush's fourth veto, three of which have concerned health; two were of measures that would have expanded federal embryonic stem cell research. (New York Times)

Is mom's milk the smart choice?
You bet, say researchers who found that preemies who drank breast milk while still in intensive care units thrived better than their formula-fed brethren—and were less likely to be rehospitalized after being discharged. Scientists report in the journal Pediatrics that they followed 800 extremely low weight babies and found that after 30 months those fed mom's milk scored an average of 90 on the mental development index, a test that measures overall intelligence, compared with an average 76 for the other infants. As for steering clear of the hospital, researchers speculate that breast milk boosts the immune system, making it easier for junior to ward off infections. (Pediatrics)

The (toy) building blocks of language
Eager to give your tiny tot a leg up on language skills? Might consider investing in some toy blocks. Researchers from Seattle Children's Hospital Research Institute report in Archives of Pediatric Adolescent Medicine that tykes who played with building blocks during a study scored 15 percent higher on a language assessment test than their non-block-playing compeers. So much for being a blockhead! (APAM)

Promising new stroke therapy
New research shows that patients treated with the antibiotic minocycline within 24 hours of suffering a stroke were less likely to suffer debilitating damage. Researchers at Tel Aviv University report in Neurology that they gave 150 stroke victims either minocycline or a placebo; three months later, those who received the antibiotic scored four times better on the National Institutes of Health stroke scale measuring vision, movement and speaking ability. Physicians are encouraged because minocycline can work up to a day after symptoms appear, whereas most current treatments only help if administered within the first few hours of an attack, which may take time to recognize. (Neurology)