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Chronic heartburn/GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease) can, if left untreated, lead to serious medical problems including asthma, laryngitis and esophageal cancer, according to leading gastroenterologists. To learn more about how to treat chronic heartburn/GERD and prevent any of the associated complications, we invite you to come hear some of the worldís leading experts discuss the most recent research in this area. You will also be able to take an actual endoscopic trip down the esophagus.

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Preliminary results from a Phase II study with Merck's echinocandin antifungal, MK-991 (formerly known as L-743,872), showed efficacy in 85% of patients with Candida esophagitis. The data were presented today at the 37th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC) meeting in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

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Some of the nation's leading medical reporters will speak at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Nov. 14-15 in a symposium for working medical journalists and medical communications specialists.

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A long-term study shows that individuals whose coronary arteries are obstructed and who are treated with angioplasty have more heart-related deaths than those who undergo bypass surgery.

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A chemical version of a "balloon-popper" has been identified that may help explain why some aortic aneurysms rupture and others do not. The report appears in today's American Heart Association journal Circulation.

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For treating heart attacks, the blood thinner hirulog is better than heparin when added to a "clot-buster" to dissolve blood clots and reopen clogged arteries, according to a report in today's American Heart Association journal Circulation.

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Researchers at The Jackson Laboratory report in Cell the development of the first genetic model to exhibit both absence and convulsive epileptic seizures. The "slow wave epilepsy" (swe) mouse promises to be the most authentic model yet for petit mal epilepsy in humans.

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Using clues from a fat, yellow mouse, researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine and the University of Michigan have identified a new cog in the body's main weight-regulating system. The protein they discovered may join leptin, a protein identified in 1994, as a prime target for the development of drugs to fight obesity, said Dr. Gregory Barsh, an associate professor of pediatrics and genetics at Stanford and the senior author of the study.

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Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago have incorporated virtual reality technology into a manufacturing design tool that allows the user to visualize and plan a factory while it is still in the design phase. The tool, a computer simulation, is proving its usefulness at Searle, a pharmaceutical company based in Skokie, Ill.

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Tips from the University of Missouri Health Sciences Center for October 1997: 1)Taking a new shot at allergic reactions; 2)MU docs make headway against "brain attack"; 3) New ulcer test easier to stomach; 4) Two Bs make for a healthier heart. 10/3/97

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One of the countryís leading specialists in the science of human tissue engineering, Dr. Gail Naughton, president and CEO, Advanced Tissue Sciences, Inc., will review recent developments in human tissue creation, including advances in skin replacement technology for burn victims and the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers at the National Academy of Engineeringís Symposium on Bioengineering. Dr. Naughton also will discuss future technologies in this area, such as the development of cartilage from single human cells and the creation of cardiovascular tissue and other internal organs.

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WASHINGTON -- Imagine having a computer disk with your entire dental health history, including pictures of your teeth during various stages of your life and voice recordings of your dentist's treatment recommendations.

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-- Tooth whitening may be the most popular cosmetic dental procedure, but more and more patients are discovering a great way to improve their smile by sculpting their gums

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WASHINGTON -- Researchers say the fastest growing segment of the population is the over-85 age group. Dentists are finding these patients present some of the most difficult and challenging clinical situations, according to an Iowa prosthodontist. Patrick Lloyd, D.D.S., will present a scientific session on "What's Old is New: Clinical Issues in Treating the Older Adult," at the American Dental Association's (ADA) 138th Annual Session in Washington, D.C., Saturday, October 18.

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WASHINGTON -- Should a dental check-up be part of the "to-do" list for women who are pregnant or planning a pregnancy? Yes, says Barbara J. Steinberg, D.D.S., of Philadelphia, who will address the special issues of female dental patients on October 19 and 20 at the American Dental Association's (ADA) 138th Annual Session in Washington, D.C.

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WASHINGTON -- Tobacco use has such a dramatic effect on the mouth that it makes sense for dentists to educate patients about tobacco's dangers. "Helping Your Patients to Quit Tobacco Use" is one of the scientific presentations at the American Dental Association's 138th annual session in Washington, D.C., October 18.

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WASHINGTON -- Great improvements continue to be made in the materials used for dental restorations, according to the head of the American Dental Association Health Foundation's Paffenbarger Research Center (ADAHF- PRC).

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WASHINGTON -- Considerable research has been conducted that documents the effect medications have on oral health, but new work is emerging that suggests some common drugs might affect periodontal health in surprisingly positive ways.

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WASHINGTON -- Your tooth hurts. It throbs. It's sensitive to hot or cold. You can't lie down or it hurts. You can't chew because it hurts. What should you do? The obvious answer is to call a dentist! The subject of dental emergencies will be discussed by a panel of dentists at the American Dental Association's (ADA) 138th Annual Session in Washington, D.C., on Sunday, October 19.

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For the past 10 years in central California, the Su Salud Health Education Fair has brought dentists, physicians, nurses and nutritionists to the people around the Central Valley of California. The number-one health problem among the thousands who have come for the free screenings has been dental disease, according to Guillermo Vicuna, D.D.S.

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WASHINGTON -- With more people developing multiple allergies, dentists have to know how to recognize the signs and be ready to handle potential emergencies in their offices. That's the focus of one of the scientific sessions at the American Dental Association's (ADA) 138th Annual Session in Washington, D.C., October 18 - 22.

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WASHINGTON -- A recent study estimates that one of every four people in the United States suffers an oral injury during their lifetime. And while many of these injuries occur in violent sports like football, boxing and hockey, an alarmingly high percentage of teeth get knocked out during bike riding, baseball, soccer, volleyball and basketball.

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WASHINGTON -- The way dentists detect and prevent tooth decay in infants and children may undergo a change in the near future. That's according to Dr. Norman Tinanoff, D.D.S., M.S., interim department chair, department of pediatric dentistry at the University of Connecticut School of Dental Medicine, who will present at the American Dental Association's (ADA) 138th Annual Session in Washington, D.C., on Monday, October 20.

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To help parents make sensible and trustworthy choices in the potentially overwhelming world of child care options, Cornell University Professor Moncrieff Cochran and wife, Eva Cochran have co-authored a new handbook that gives parents the tools to collect and assess information on child care.

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The University of New Hampshire will host a satellite downlink telecast of the White House Conference on Climate Change: The Challenge of Global Warming.

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Scientists from UC Santa Cruz have tracked, for the first time, a juvenile bald eagle's remarkable first migration northward from its nest in search of salmon. A lightweight satellite tag has tracked the eagle on its rapid flight nearly 1,000 miles north into British Columbia.

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He's a smooth operator, the type of guy who knows his way around. He's cool -- a little cocky even -- but kind and quick with his praise. Some new Hollywood hero? No, he's Cosmo the Internet Adviser, the wormlike, wise-cracking animated star of a new interactive software program being developed at North Carolina State University to teach teens and preteens about the inner workings of the Internet.

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A psychologist at the University of Georgia has developed a new model that can help predict how well caregivers will be able to deal with the care of an older, ill relative.

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The Supreme Court will soon be in session, and thanks to another new Internet project by a Northwestern University political scientist, you can take a tour of the Court without ever leaving home.

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National Depression Screening Day, a keynote event during Mental Illness Awareness Week, has attracted nearly 350,000 people over the last six years. Interested participants can go to one of more than 3000 screening sites on October 9, 1997. To locate the closest site, call 1-800-573-4433 or visit the on-line site locator at www.nmisp.org. All screenings are free and anonymous.

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These are just a few of the many scientific sessions that will be presented at the American Society of Anesthesiologists 1997 annual meeting, October 18-22, 1997, in San Diego.

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A news photo published around the world shows a Muslim man being shot down on the street of a small village in the former Yugoslavia. He's trying to escape from a group of detainees. He and other Muslims were killed and buried in mass graves throughout the countryside.

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The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded a series of 28 new grants worth over $22.5 million for research in Learning and Intelligent Systems (LIS) -- a broad range of studies that could lead to rapid and radical advances in how humans learn and create.

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A new study released by the Simon Graduate School of Business reveals that the primary issue hampering diversity in the workplace is its economic impact to a company's bottom line. In other words, diversity costs. These findings sharply contrast previous studies that identify discrimination, favoritism and legislative mandates such as affirmative action as the factors that motivate hiring practices.

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College graduates with a gift for numbers and a degree in mathematics are finding employment in some very high-profile fields, according to a Purdue University adviser who works with junior and senior math students at Purdue University.

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Two professors in the Purdue Krannert Graduate School of Management have teamed up with a computer science professor to develop a business "war game" that can help answer strategic- management questions. The game creates a synthetic environment where people are free to make mistakes and learn from them. It was inspired by Pentagon war game exercises.

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New research by scientists, including one at the University of Georgia, shows that self-sufficiency in foraging among capuchins arrives long after they have sufficient manual skills to achieve it.

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A new study by a psychologist at the University of Georgia shows that banks may be losing the elderly as ATM customers and that education and machine redesign could be the best hope from bringing them back.

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Do your Christmas shopping early this year because retailers throughout the country will be hit with a deluge of consumers greater than in any year since 1992. So predicts Anthony Liuzzo, associate professor of business and economics at Wilkes University in Wilkes-Barre, PA. He analyzes retail trends and issues annual forecasts for the holiday shopping season. Liuzzo says every sector of the reatil economy should experience solid sales and profit growth.

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When female wasps return to the colony after foraging, some females initiate aggressive encounters with males and stuff them head first into empty nest cells. Cornell University researchers who observed the behavior call it "male-stuffing," and believe it contributes to the colony's fitness by making more food available to larvae.

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How leaves turn from green into colorful, autumnal splendor is known, but scientists have plenty of room to discuss how weather contributes to the leaves' autumnal vibrancy, says Peter J. Davies, Cornell University plant physiologist.

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Press release of issue dated October 2 for New Scientist, the international science and technology weekly newss magazine.

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Good posture is important to somebody besides mothers - namely auto makers. Engineers at Michigan State University are working to give them the tools to make sitting up straight in the car easy.The solution to car seat slouch lies in the mannequins used to represent people in the seats automakers design. MSU engineers are working to design mannequins that sit like real people.

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Boston University joins research partners across the nation in an alliance to build the infrastructure that will link many of the world's most advanced computers into a network that will allow researchers to solve complex problems in fields such as cosmology, molecular biology, nanomaterials and environmental hydrology. In anticipation of this effort Boston University has added 128 processors to its Silicon Graphics (SGI) Origin2000TM system, giving it a total of 192 processors, and making it one of the most powerful systems available on any US university campus.

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A trial now underway at Temple University Hospital will examine the efficacy, safety and cost-effectiveness of using the Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD) as a permanent treatment of end-stage heart failure. The LVAD -- about the size of an outstretched hand -- is a two-pound mechanical device that pumps blood out of the heart to the body. In recent years, it has been used as a temporary "bridge" to heart transplant, keeping the sickest transplant candidates alive until they receive a new heart. This trial will push the limits of the LVAD.

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By further tracking nitric oxide's actions in the brain, Johns Hopkins scientists report they have figured out what may be a universal sequence of biochemical events from stroke to brain cell death.

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A contaminated endoscope that may have transmitted tuberculosis (TB) between two hospital patients has highlighted the need for scrupulous adherence to endoscope cleaning procedures and the value of maintaining TB DNA fingerprint registries.

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Nine months ago, New York City and the upstate New York towns in the New York City watershed formally settled their differences over environmental restrictions in the watershed region, but close to a third of the upstate residents don't know about the agreement, according to Cornell University rural sociologists.

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New data from a clinical trial of the injectible antibiotic MERREM I.V. a (meropenem for injection) demonstrate that the drug is effective against the major pathogens associated with pediatric meningitis and is well tolerated among patients participating in the study.

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Mass. educators who specialize in media literacy--critical thinking about television, newspapers, radio, magazines, movies. and the Internet--are the recent recipients of a $50,000 grant from the Felton Media Literacy Scholars Program. Renee Hobbs, associate professor, communication, Babson College will direct the program scheduled to begin this spring for 15 Boston-area educators and media professionals.