Activation of the Immune System and the Nobel Prize for Medicine

October 4, 2011 | by

nobel medal in medicineThe 2011 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was announced on Monday. The prize was awarded to three scientists for their work on the body’s immune system.

The prize of 10-million-Swedish-krona (US$1.5-million) was divided, one half jointly to Bruce A. Beutler, age 54, at The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California, and Jules A. Hoffmann, age 70, at the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) Institute of Cell and Molecular Biology in Strasbourg, for their discovery of receptor proteins that can recognize bacteria and other microorganisms and activate innate immunity, and the other half to Ralph M. Steinman, age 68, at Rockefeller University in New York, for his discovery of dendritic cells of the immune system and their unique capacity to activate and regulate adaptive immunity, the later stage of the immune response during which microorganisms are cleared from the body.

FDA Removing Over-the-counter Asthma Drug From Shelves for Environment

September 30, 2011 | by

Users of Primatene Mist, the only over-the-counter treatment for acute symptoms of asthma, will need to find an alternative as of December 31, 2011. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently announced that the medication will no longer be available because it uses chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) as a propellant agent [1], and CFCs have long been known to deplete Earth’s ozone layer.

Primatine Mist spray

AAP Corrects Statements on HPV Vaccine Safety

September 13, 2011 | by

The American Academy of Pediatrics released this statement today in response to statements made during the Republican Tea Party debate [1]:

HPV vaccine

CVS Caremark MinuteClinic, Indiana University Health Announce Clinical Affiliation

August 12, 2011 | by

MinuteClinic, the retail healthcare division of CVS Caremark and Indiana University Health (IU Health), the largest and most comprehensive health system in Indiana, announced yesterday that they have entered into a clinical affiliation to enhance access to the high quality, affordable healthcare services they provide in communities throughout the state of Indiana [1]. The affiliation allows the organizations to work together in a more coordinated and integrated fashion to provide better care of patients with chronic diseases.

CVS Minute Clinic and IU Health

The US Debt Ceiling Debate and its Effect on Science

July 29, 2011 | by

If the U.S. debt ceiling is not raised by Tuesday, August 2nd, the U.S. Treasury has warned that the country will not be able to pay all its obligations [1]. The debt ceiling is the amount that the country may legally borrow. Congressional Republicans have demanded budget cuts as a condition to raising the debt ceiling and avoiding a default.

Proposals from both Democrats and Republicans amount to a budget reduction of more than $1 trillion in spending over the next ten years; that’s approximately $100 billion per year. Defense spending cuts are off the table, and it’s likely that social security, Medicare and Medicaid programs will also be left untouched. Cuts are expected to be made to the roughly $600-billion domestic discretionary budget.

Science and the debt ceiling debate