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.
DETROIT -- We've all heard that anger can kill. Yet for cardiac patients, perhaps denial of anger is even more deadly. Denial of anger emerged as a stronger predictor for death and other cardiac incidents, such as new heart attacks or additional cardiac procedures, than traditional cardiac risk factors, according to a Henry Ford Hospital study conducted by Mark Ketterer, Ph.D.
The microbe that causes cholera has revealed the underlying mechanism for a promising new technology for oral delivery of drugs not normally absorbed through the intestines, such as insulin and immunoglobulins. Embargoed for release March 19, 1997
APA Announces Legal Actions To Protect Patients: 1)Challenges managed care profiteering by joining as plaintiff in antitrust lawsuit filed in New York State; 2)Seeks to protect patients from discrimination under the Americans With Disabilities Act; 3) Financial support of class action lawsuits against Blue Cross Companies reviews of medical necessity of treatment decisions; 4) Proactive litigation strategy and fund; 5) Further information about these suits
A researcher at the University of Iowa College of Medicine has discovered a technique that may open new doors for prostate cancer therapy. Dr. Timothy Ratliff, UI professor of urology, says a virus called canarypox has the potential to be used as a means of transporting genes that stimulate anti-tumor activity into prostate cancer cells. Ratliff's research appears in the March 19 issue of Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
The following stories appear in the American Thoracic Society (ATS) March journals: 1- pulmonary problems greater in low income individuals; 2- moderate levels of air pollution can cause respiratory problems in children; 3- how cigarette smoke inhalation stimulates bone marrow. EMBARGOED: Mar. 20, 1997, 6:00 p.m.
The Northeast survived the 11th warmest February in 103 years of record -- warm enough to shatter six all-time temperature records for the month and set or tie 47 daily high-temperature records, according to climatologists at the Northeast Regional Climate Center at Cornell University.
Cornell fiber scientist C.C. Chu is editor of new text, "Wound Closure Biomaterials and Devices." The book provides comprehensive information on state-of-the-art, innovative biomaterials, devices and techniques used in wound closure.
The community around York, NY will hear a report on the feasibility of a central plant that would remove manure odor, recycle manure for value-added products, improve dairy waste management and perhaps provide energy back to the community. All this, and it would more than pay for itself, too, according to a Cornell professor of agricultural and biological engineering.
After analyzing the reasons for instituting the Glass-Steagall Banking Act, Stanford Business School researcher Manju Puri suggests that barriers dividing commercial and investment banks be relaxed.
A team of Los Alamos National Laboratory and Caltech scientists have made important breakthroughs in applying a powerful new technique that marries two existing technologies to probe materials at a microscopic level. EMBARGOED until Mar 19, 1997 at 1:30 p.m. Central Time
LAWRENCE -- Another match has been set in a long-running academic debate about whether birds descended from dinosaurs. At issue, said Larry Dean Martin, curator of paleontology at the University of Kansas Natural History Museum, is whether these dinosaurs had feathers.
Media representatives are invited to attend the American Academy of Neurology's 49th Annual Meeting April 12-19 in Boston, MA. Studies presented at the meeting include: 1) Extensive Decongestant Use Linked to Stroke; 2) Gene Affects Risk of Alzheimer's Disease Differently Among Races Please note individual embargo dates.
1) Relationship Between Symptoms of Depression in Older Patients and Health Status; 2) ACP Prostate Cancer Screening Recommendations; 3) ACP Position Paper: Inner-City Health Care; 4) ACP Annual Session March 22-24, 1997, Pennsylvania Convention Center. Info: (215) 351-2655.
Johns Hopkins scientists may have identified how oxidants can worsen cancerous cell growth and how antioxidants can suppress it. Antioxidants have long been thought to fight cancer; the current findings give insight into how the protection may occur and how it may be harnessed for anti-cancer therapies.
When the anti-nausea drug Thalidomide came out on the market in the late 1950s, one molecule in the drug caused terrible birth defects. That molecule was what chemists call a "chiral" molecule. Chiral molecules are molecules which are chemically and structurally the same, but are mirror images -- one is right-handed and the other is left-handed. Until now there has been no reliable way to separate right- and left-handed chiral molecules. But that is changing.
Being the first kid on your block to own a reptile may be cool, but its also a health risk, according to a study in Pediatrics, the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Children and adults are more likely to be overweight and obese than they were 20 years ago, according to a recent study in Pediatrics, the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Parents who store gasoline in safety cans rather than the more popular rectangular metal gasoline cans may prevent burn deaths and injuries to young children, according to a study on the electronic version of Pediatrics, the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Women who receive epidurals to ease labor pains may be increasing discomfort for their newborns, according to a study published in this months Pediatrics, the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Over a seven-year period, there was a 44 percent increase in recurrent ear infections among preschool children, according to a study published on the electronic version of Pediatrics, the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
In a speech on the function and purpose of the Federal Reserve System, a Simon School professor and noted economist argues that inflation is the one variable which the Fed truly can control; he sees zero inflation as a realistic goal.