Imagine the effect on scientific literacy if every college teacher could turn at will to a Pulitzer Prize-winning expert on biodiversity and gifted lecturer to explain biology fundamentals to undergraduates.
NEW YORK, NY- Researchers at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, in collaboration with Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, have identified a new tumor suppressor gene, known as P-TEN, involved in a large percentage of brain, breast, and prostate cancers. The newly discovered tumor suppressor gene is one of more than a dozen known to be involved in a large variety of cancers. The discovery could lead to better tests for early detection and more effective treatments. The finding is reported in the March 28 issue of the journal, Science. Embargoed 3-27-97 4 p.m.
A yearlong series of Hubble Space Telescope observations of comet Hale-Bopp has revealed surprising new information about comet structure. The findings will be described in the March 28 issue of "Science." Embargoed until 4 p.m. EST on March 27.
Overweight cats are more likely to suffer diabetes, lameness and non-allergic skin conditions, according to a Cornell University veterinary study that followed obese felines for four years. About 25 percent of 2,000 cats in the study were overweight when the study began, and some didn't survive for the follow-up.
A new material developed at Virginia Tech has the potential to strengthen structures such as airplane wings and fuselage as well as the armor in cars and tanks.
Resources for the Future today releases the first in a series of briefing papers on key issues in the debate over global climate change. As decisionmakers prepare for domestic policy debates and the ongoing international negotiations under the Framework Convention on Climate Change, RFF's briefs provide topical, timely, and non-technical information and analysis.
Long-term exposure to certain metals, such as copper and manganese, as well as certain combinations of metals, may increase the risk of Parkinson's disease, according to a study by researchers at Henry Ford Hospital. The study is published in this month's issue of Neurology.
Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) President John Cordaro today urged a federal advisory board to support a White House Conference on human nutrition research focusing on prevention and consumer education.
The American Psychiatric Association announces the April 1, 1997, release of Practice Guideline for the Treatment of Patients With Schizophrenia, the seventh in the APA series of practice guidelines for mental illnesses and substance use disorders. EMBARGOED UNTIL APRIL 1, 1997
A breathable liquid for treating children in acute respiratory distress is undergoing clinical trials Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center. The liquid, called perflubron, is administered to the lungs with a conventional respirator.
This is a trick question. Until now, the only way to be sure of the answer would be to violate confidentiality laws and track down the individual students.
Computer scientists at Regis University in Denver are working with the Denver Police Department to make the stressful art of police dispatching into a more exact--and a cheaper-- science.
While health policy is attracting attention in political circles, the rapid changes in health care financing and delivery are presenting major challenges--and opportunities--to managers in the industry. In response, the University of Rochester's William E. Simon Graduate School of Business Administration has launched a new M.B.A. concentration in Health Care Management.
Most rural areas of the United States are catching on with the national "information revolution," as the gaps between cyber "haves" and "havenÃt yets" are lessening, according to a new study funded by NSF. Recent legislation to restructure the nationÃs electric energy systems industry also contained some high-performance challenges, which NSF is helping the industry to meet. The National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Department of Energy (DOE) have agreed to jointly fund a program to explore fundamental processes in plasma science and engineering.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR) works to improve the quality of health care, reduce costs, and broaden access to essential services. Here are some of the findings described in the most recent issue of AHCPR's Research Activities.
Trinity College in Hartford, Ct., will sponsor its fourth annual Fire-Fighting Home-Robot contest--the largest public robotics contest held in the United States (participants range from ages ten to 65)--on Sunday, April 20.
The American College of Radiology today strongly endorsed the American Cancer Society's recommendation that women aged 40-49 receive screening mammography every year rather than every 1-2 years.
The conflict between professionalism and profit in health care today needs to be addressed by creating a new national agency, according to an article in this week's issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). Embargoed Tuesday, March 25, 1997
Despite the high degree of transfusion safety in the United States today, a measurable percentage of blood donors still hold back reporting risk factors at the time of donation, according to an article in this week's issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). Embargoed Tuesday, March 25, 1997
People who want to donate a kidney to a loved one can now do it with less pain, a shorter hospital stay and a much faster recovery. Surgeons at the University of Maryland Medical Center have made that possible by using a laparoscopic technique to remove the kidney instead of making a large incision. EMBARGOED UNTIL: March 24, 1997
A research team at the University of Wisconsin-Madison has, for the first time, documented differences in medical expenses for children whose mothers smoke compared to those whose mothers don't. EMBARGOED UNTIL 5 p.m., CST, SUNDAY, MARCH 23
The American Academy of Pediatrics today called for monies resulting from a recent legal settlement by a tobacco company to be rolled into state Medicaid programs that benefit children and other victims of tobacco use.
The U.S. must play a key role in saving central Africa s tropical forests, now in sudden peril due to an unprecedented land rush by high-volume logging companies, according to Michael Fay, a conservation biologist with the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) headquartered at the Bronx Zoo.
Studies covering topics ranging from screening mammography for women 40-49 to the best ways to evaluate infants for suspected child abuse will be presented at the American Roentgen Ray Society Annual Meeting. The meeting will be held in Boston, MA, May 4-9 at the Sheraton Boston Hotel and Towers.
A chocoholic Johns Hopkins graduate student working in a computer vision lab has figured out how a computer can tell the difference between the kind with the creamy middles and the bumpy peanut clusters. It may sound like a silly exercise, but, actually, teaching a computer to distinguish among curved objects -- not just those with straight, hard edges -- is quite an advance.
Endocrinologists have learned how estrogen helps maintain pregnancy and stimulates the process of fetal maturation. Estrogen helps prevent miscarriage by regulating the production of another hormone, progesterone, and jumpstarts the fetal maturation process by activating fetal production of cortisol, a steroid hormone vital for maturation of lungs and other organs. Embargoed until 3-22-97
The FAA and NCAR explore a new detection and warning system for Juneau, Alaska, and tackle remote sensing and forecasting problems. Meanwhile the U.S. Navy seeks NCAR's help with choppy winds on high- speed vessels
A pilot school security program between Sandia and Belen High School (N.M.) is being credited for an impressive decline in the number of incidents that typically distress school administrators and students alike -- violence, theft, and drug and alcohol use. In a recent letter sent to President Clinton, Belen
Job opportunities in the health care industry are growing, especially for nurses and pharmacists with advanced degrees. By the start of the next century, the number of jobs for nurses with advanced degrees will be twice the supply. "This is only one of the indications ã although it may be the most startling ã that the health care industry offers promising futures in a variety of fields," says Sandra Irvin, assistant head of student affairs in the Purdue University School of Nursing.
While the controversy continues over whether a martian meteorite bears evidence of ancient life on mars, a Purdue University scientist says the rocky fragments can tell us something about the early life of the planet itself.
Modern movie superheroes rescue hostages by evading hailstorms of bullets and harming only evil-doers who resist. In the flesh-and-blood world, people who sign on to be cops -- whether city, state or FBI -- need extensive training to make the split-second judgments that would protect themselves, rescue the innocent, and disarm or disable hostage-takers. To widen access to such training, lessen its cost yet broaden its focus, a virtual reality simulation that allows two-person law enforcement teams to grip guns, don virtual reality glasses, and burst into the harsh environment of hostage-takers and their victims has been created in prototype by researchers at Sandia National Laboratories.
Biomedical engineers have built a prototype drug pump the size of a contact lens, a miniature, closed-loop implant that could monitor its own flow rate to ensure a steady stream of medicine.
The federal government has made substantial progress recently to improve America's food safety system by adopting a new regulatory framework that focuses on prevention and clearly defines the roles industry and government must play. But reform of the system must go further and assign responsibilities more clearly, make better use of scarce resources, and prepare for future challenges, including those posed by persistent foodborne illnesses and the globalization of the food economy, according to a new article authored by the former head of USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service. The article appears in the current Food and Drug Law Journal.
Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Oncology Center and University Hospital in Utrecht, the Netherlands have identified a genetic pathway that may play a role in the development of as many as 90 percent of all colon cancers.
The Biotechnology Information Institute is now offering the Federal Bio-Technology Transfer Directory as an online Internet Web database. Besides being the largest specialized database of licensing opportunities in the biomedical, biotechnology and pharmaceutical areas, it is the only source for information about federal bio-technology transfers and related commercialization activities.
Johns Hopkins researchers have identified a protein that helps biochemical "ears" on the surface of brain cells line up close to the areas where nearby brain cells "speak."
What do boiling-hot fissures in the earth's crust, the insides of airplane fuel tanks, vast expanses of ice in Antarctica and the parched sands of baking deserts have in common with environments on other planets?
Results of a nationwide survey of physicians and genetic counselors conducted by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions show that most patients who underwent genetic testing for a gene linked with colon cancer did not receive adequate genetic counseling or give their written informed consent for the test.
TYLENOL(R), the world's leading over-the-counter (OTC) pain reliever, has launched a new site (www.Tylenol.com) on the Internet where consumers and healthcare professionals can find important information about the proper use of OTC pain medications, common illnesses, pain management and self-care.
On March 24-26, 1997, the International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI), in cooperation with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration, and in collaboration with other organizations, will host a conference on emerging foodborne pathogens. The conference will take place at the Radisson Plaza Hotel, Mark Center, in Alexandria, Virginia.
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin Medical School and the National Institutes of Health have determined the three-dimensional structure of the "catalytic core," or main power center, of adenylyl cyclase. Adenylyl cyclase is a key player in the system that receives messages from outside cells and sends them repackaged to cell centers involved in any number of activities.
The International GovNews Project has announced a special government category on the InternetÃs Usenet news system. The creation of this new category lays the groundwork for the wide, cost-effective electronic dissemination and discussion by topic of large amounts of public government information.
The 25 million acres of land entrusted to the U.S. military may now benefit from more than 50 years of study in conservation and land management. A new 500-page publication called ≥Conserving Biodiversity on Military Lands: A Handbook for Natural Resource Managers≤ is now available for the U.S. Department of Defense. The bookπs publication is due in part to the efforts of Dr. Gary Meffe, a senior research ecologist with the University of Georgiaπs Savannah River Ecology Laboratory. He wrote the book with Michele Leslie, Jeffrey Hardesty and Diane Adams, all with The Nature Conservancy.
The world's leading asthma research and treatment center and an Arizona health resort known as a worldwide leader in healthy living awareness and education are teaming to offer a week-long Adult Asthma Week from Sunday, Oct. 26-Sunday, Nov. 2.
As the United States Congress considers legislation that would restrict the trading of municipal solid waste (MSW) among states, researchers at Resources for the Future have found that, under certain circumstances, limits placed on the volume of MSW shipped by one state to another state may actually increase the number of interstate waste shipments as well as increase disposal costs for some regions of the country. Embargoed March 20
Until recently, the study of negotiation was focused on splitting up "goods," or things people want, not on the distribution of "bads." In a study by Neale, Harris Sondak of Duke University, and Robin Pinkley of Southern Methodist University, takes a close look at what factors influence people's willingness to accept burdens.
The concept of Most Favored Nation has not been lost on the business world, where corporations frequently write Most Favored Customer clauses into contracts with their largest customers, guaranteeing them the lowest price in markets where prices vary. The government has tried to capitalize on the idea, too, but in the case of Medicaid, says a Stanford researcher, it was a bad idea.