White House to Announce Flu Pandemic Strategy
Increased efforts at early detection of human avian flu infections in the United States and other countries are expected to be part of the Bush administration's strategy to deal with a potential global pandemic.
The strategy, to be unveiled Tuesday, will include recommendations on how to isolate people who are sick and will place the onus on governors and mayors to decide who will receive stockpiled vaccines, the Associated Press reported.
It's also expected that Bush will ask Congress for more money for a vaccine to fight bird flu and to create an infrastructure that can deal with any kind of pandemic, whether it's bird flu or some other influenza strain.
The experts who've advised the Bush administration in the year-long search for a long-range plan have recommended that the influenza strategy should cover: plans on how to provide food supplies; everyday medical care for people who aren't afflicted with flu; basic utilities, and security.
In related news, several biotechnology companies are trying to develop a new and faster method of making a flu vaccine that can replace the current vaccine that requires people to be inoculated with the entire influenza virus.
The idea is to extract just a few genes from the flu virus and inject it into people, the AP reported.
Currently, it takes nine months to produce each year's flu shots. The process, which has changed little since the 18th century, may prove ineffective in dealing with the unexpected emergence of a new, deadly flu strain.
Meanwhile in Japan, officials Monday said they planned to slaughter 82,000 more chickens after signs of avian flu were detected at a farm in Ibaraki, northeast of Tokyo, the AP reported. The farm is located inside an area that's already been quarantined and where 1.5 million birds have already been destroyed.
Brain Structure May Affect Anxiety
The size of a particular brain structure may affect a person's vulnerability to anxiety, say Massachusetts General Hospital researchers.
They scanned the brains of 14 volunteers while they were exposed to anxiety-inducing situations and concluded that people with a thicker ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) are better able to cope with stressful experiences, BBC News reported.
"These results suggest that a bigger vmPFC may be protective against anxiety disorders or that a smaller one may be a predisposing factor," said researcher Dr. Mohammed Milad.
However, Milad said it's not yet known how vmPFC size might actually affect a person's susceptibility to anxiety. The study appears in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The next step in this research involves looking at genetic and environmental factors that may explain differences in vmPFC size, BBC News reported.
The researchers said that eventually it may be possible to use vmPFC size to predict a person's vulnerability to anxiety disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder.
Japanese Panel Recommends Lifting U.S, Canada Beef Ban
A two-year ban on U.S. and Canadian beef imports should be lifted, a panel of Japanese scientists recommended Monday.
The 2003 Japanese ban on beef imports from both countries was prompted by the discovery of mad cow disease. The panel concluded that there's little risk of mad cow disease in beef products from young Canadian and U.S. cattle if potentially dangerous body parts are removed, Agence France Presse reported.
"If these conditions are maintained, the risk is very slim," panel chairman Yasuhiro Yoshikawa told reporters. "Those who want to buy it (North American beef) can buy it. If people don't want to buy it, then they don't have to."
The government-appointed panel recommended that beef imports from the two countries could resume in December, after the required public hearings and government approval.
Gates Foundation to Boost Malaria Research
Calling the current lack of funding for malaria research "a disgrace," Microsoft mogul Bill Gates on Sunday announced that his charity, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, will earmark another $258.3 million in grants toward prevention and treatment of the mosquito-borne scourge.
The new funding comes on top of previous monies the foundation has designated for malaria research, the Washington Post reported. The new grants mean the foundation is now the single largest funder of malaria research worldwide, eclipsing the U.S. government.
Experts estimate that malaria kills 1.2 million people annually, most of them African children under 6 years of age. "It's really a tragedy that the world has done so little to stop this disease that kills 20,000 African children every day," Gates said in a press conference in New York. "If those children were in rich countries we'd have headlines, we'd take action."
One of the foundation grants, for $107.6 million, will fund sped-up research on what is hoped to be the world's first-ever malaria vaccine, currently being developed in Germany by a division of drug giant GlaxoSmithKline PLC. Researchers hope a cheap, easily distributed vaccine will be ready for use in just six years.
Researchers Find Key Stem Cell Trigger
U.S. scientists announced Saturday they had moved a big step closer to growing human organ tissue in the laboratory using embryonic stem cells, according to a report in The Times of London. The discovery could help pave the way for lifesaving treatments for a variety of illnesses, with stem cells someday being used to repair or replace lost tissues.
Reporting in the journal Nature Biotechnology, researchers at biotech company CyThera said they have found a way to turn embryonic stem cells in endoderm, a layer of cells in human embryos that eventually develops into organs.
CyThera scientific director Emmanuel Baetge told the Times that "If you were to use human embryonic stem cells to make products that treat disease such as diabetes or liver failure, you would have to go through the endoderm stage to get [them]."
Experts have hailed the results as proof of principle that stem cells can be manipulated to give rise to endoderm, which has so far been extremely difficult to obtain.
Food Fact:
Kernels of wisdom.
The secret to tastier corn: Know exactly how long to cook it. Sweet and tender corn should be cooked in boiling water for no more than 1 or 2 minutes. For best flavor, cook corn the same day it's picked. It's naturally tasty - try it without butter to avoid added fat.There's nothing better than eating corn-on-the-cob on a summer's night. It's good for the soul and the body too. One ear's worth of kernels contains 85 calories and 3 grams fiber. Yellow corn contains lutein, a plant pigment that helps protect your eyes from macular degeneration. Hominy is corn that has been treated with an alkali to remove the hulls. The process boosts the availability of the niacin in corn as a nutrient.
Fitness Tip of the day:
Don't be a night owl.
Exercising just before bedtime may be asking for trouble. Aerobic exercise -- and exercise in general -- helps you fall asleep more quickly and sleep longer, but generally not if you if you work out just before turning in. Don't be tempted by your gym's late hours if you have to get up early the next morning; most of us need a few hours to relax and decompress after a workout before going to sleep, so you might pay a price the next day.
FAQ of the day:
Do I need more soy if I'm menopausal?
There's some evidence that soy's isoflavones may help reduce hot flashes. More important is the benefit that soy foods rich in soy protein and isoflavones have on osteoporosis and heart disease. Like estrogen itself, soy's isoflavones help keep bones strong. You may want to take a soy protein isolate powder containing isoflavones daily to help prevent osteoporosis and lower blood cholesterol. With diet and exercise, you can greatly reduce your risk of heart disease after menopause, even without hormone replacement therapy.
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