Dhaka, March 28 -- Dr Garen J Wintemute, an emergency room doctor and longtime firearm violence researcher in California, is supervising scientific research on whether community interventions in Detroit and Cleveland - including the greening of vacant spaces and the work of so-called violence interrupters like former gang members - can drive down gun-related deaths and injuries.

And Andrew R Morral, a behavioural scientist at the RAND Corp, a research group, is using sophisticated modelling tools to estimate rates of gun ownership in every state, with detailed demographic information. The purpose, he said, is to search for patterns in firearm homicides and suicides - a first, basic step in research that could lead to reducing them.

The ...