Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:

AMA Abandons Proposal to Tax Soft Drinks

A proposal to push for taxes on soft drinks to help fight the obesity epidemic in the United States was rejected Tuesday by the American Medical Association (AMA).

Instead, the nation's most influential doctors' group voted in favor of a proposal for a broader-based effort to combat obesity, the Associated Press reported.

The American Beverage Association, which opposed the AMA's tax proposal, issued a statement that commended the AMA for adopting "a comprehensive approach to addressing the complex problem of obesity."

However, Dr. Ron Davis, president-elect of the AMA, said this isn't the end of the idea of taxing soft drinks, the AP reported. Davis noted that soft drinks now account for 7 percent of the calories in the typical American diet, which makes them the leading source of calories.

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Study Tests Stem-Cell Treatment for Batten Disease

Doctors at Oregon Health & Science University on Tuesday conducted the first human transplant of a purified brain stem cell product called HuCNS-SC. The transplant is the first of six to test the product in children with a rare fatal neurological disorder called Batten disease.

The transplants are being done as part of a Phase I clinical trial to test the safety and efficacy of HuCNS-SC, made by California-based StemCells Inc.

For the trial, researchers expect to enroll a total of six patients over the next 12 months. Along with assessing the safety of the product, the researchers will assess patients for development, cognition, behavior and language for a year after they receive the transplant.

Batten disease is caused by a lack of a lysosomal enzyme in the brain -- the result of inherited genetic mutations. Children with Batten disease suffer seizures, progressive loss of motor skills, sight and mental capacity. They eventually become blind, bedridden and unable to communicate.

HuCNS-SC is designed to promote production of the missing lysosomal enzyme in the brain.

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No Special Measures to Save Very Premature Babies: U.K. Council

No extraordinary measures should be taken to resuscitate premature babies born after being in the womb for 22 weeks or less, say new guidelines issued by the independent Nuffield Council on Bioethics in Britain.

The council also said that babies born after 22 to 23 weeks of womb development should not receive extraordinary resuscitation measures unless parents request it and doctors agree, Agence France Presse reported.

Survival of babies born before 22 weeks is "extremely rare" and just 1 percent of babies born up to 23 weeks survive, the council said.

The guidelines may spark heated debate in the United Kingdom, AFP reported.

For example, Paul Tully, general secretary of the Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child, said he was concerned that the guidelines may encourage moves toward euthanasia for disabled infants.

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Americans Want Better Health Insurance: Survey

Americans want more coverage and choice in their health insurance plans -- as long as they don't have to pick up the cost, according to a national survey published online Tuesday by the journal Health Affairs.

The survey also found that the uninsured are more likely than those with insurance to reject policies that require people to buy health insurance, and that 28 percent of Americans favor charging obese people higher insurance premiums.

The University of Chicago researchers who conducted the survey of 1,517 people said their findings suggest that Americans have difficulty making trade-offs to reform the health system and to make coverage more widely available. Instead, Americans want to put the onus on government and employers.

"Overall, Americans seem to be hoping for a better deal: there is little evidence of self-sacrifice," study co-author Daniel Gaylin said in a prepared statement. "They want employers and the government to do more to help pay for coverage but they still want the right to choose from different policies."

While mandatory health insurance may appeal to some state and federal policymakers, support for such policies varies depending on a person's situation, the survey found. More than 75 percent of respondents without health insurance opposed the idea of mandatory health plans.

This could be because these people feel coverage is too expensive or because they've made a decision to forego coverage and want to reserve the right to make that choice, the researchers said.

The survey also found that most of the respondents believe that people with unhealthy behaviors should have to pay more for health insurance. A majority said that smokers should have to pay more, while 28 percent said obese people should pay more. Californians were especially in favor (43 percent) of charging obese people higher health insurance premiums.

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FDA Panel to Review Ketek Antibiotic

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has scheduled a two-day review of the antibiotic Ketek (telithromycin), which has been linked to reports of serous liver problems, including several deaths.

The review, scheduled for Dec. 14-15, will be conducted by an outside panel of experts and could lead to a recommendation that the FDA add further warnings to the label of the antibiotic, the Associated Press reported.

Currently, the Ketek label carries a bold-type warning about reports of liver failure and severe injury in some patients who've taken the drug, which is used to treat respiratory tract infections, bronchitis, sinusitis and community-acquired pneumonia.

The drug was approved by the FDA in 2004. As of April 2006, there had been at least a dozen reports of acute liver failure in people treated with Ketek. Four of those patients died. The FDA is also aware of at least 23 other incidents where patients who took the antibiotic suffered serious liver injuries, the AP reported.

The U.S. Senate Finance Committee is investigating allegations of fraud involving clinical trials of Ketek and is looking into how the FDA handled Ketek-related safety issues.

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Online Tools Help Consumers Assess Nutrition Labels

The U.S. government has introduced two new learning tools to help Americans use the Nutrition Facts label so they can select healthy foods and control their weight.

The tools include an interactive Web-based learning program called Make Your Calories Count that's designed to help consumers understand and use the Nutrition Facts label to plan a healthy diet while managing calorie intake.

There's also a new downloadable Nutrition Facts Label brochure that tells consumers how they can use the Nutrition Facts label as they shop and plan meals.

"By making it easier for consumers to understand the Nutrition Facts label, the FDA is helping them make quick and informed food choices that contribute to lifelong healthy eating habits," Dr. Andrew C. von Eschenbach, acting FDA commissioner, said in a prepared statement.