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Science and Medicine
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*** New antibiotic emerges to fight superbugs
The first antibiotic to fight a new generation of "superbugs" won
limited approval from an FDA advisory panel Thursday. If the FDA acts
on the recommendation of the panel, made up of experts from around
the country, Synercid will be the first drug in a new arsenal against
antibiotic-resistant bacteria. But experts say it cannot be the last,
as bacteria mutate to fight the strongest drugs. Antibiotic-resistant
bacteria are a growing problem around the world. Although they are
not widespread in the general population, they are becoming more
common in hospitals and in patients with depressed immune systems who
typically have been treated with many drugs over a long period. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2552989124-ef8
*** New hormones found that affect appetite - study
Scientists have found two new hormones that seem to influence eating
behavior and could lead to new treatments for obesity and help adults
with diabetes control the disease. The hormones, dubbed orexin-A and
orexin-B, are released by nerve cells in the region of the brain
known to play a key role in appetite. When researchers injected the
hormones into the brains of rats, the animals began eating more. When
they starved the animals, brain levels of the hormones increased. The
Texas researchers' finding is published in Friday's issue of Cell
magazine. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2552987645-132
*** Parkinson's disease cure may lie in transplants
Scientists say they have been able to reverse effects of Parkinson's
disease in laboratory rats by transplanting tissue from their
rodents' necks into their brains. The findings, reported in Friday's
edition of the medical journal Neuron, need to be confirmed and the
scope of the work expanded before it is applied to humans. The rats
were tested for only three months and the researchers from the
University of Sevilla in Spain used a chemically induced model of
Parkinson's disease that may have important differences from the
condition that strikes 50,000 Americans each year. Their work is
expected to open new avenues to explore in the treatment of the
now-incurable disease. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2552988517-edd
*** WHO insists cannabis a threat to public health
The World Health Organization insisted Thursday cannabis is a public
health threat. "It is obvious the use of cannabis causes a number of
health problems and an increase in its use would make the situation
worse," it said. WHO was defending itself against accusations it
suppressed a report that said cannabis is safer than alcohol or
tobacco. Britain's New Scientist magazine said Wednesday WHO
officials suppressed a study of cannabis and legal substances because
they feared it would give ammunition to the "legalize marijuana"
campaign. But the WHO said the analysis was dropped because it
contained contradictions and "conclusions were not scientifically
sound." See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2552987746-54a
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