Prescribed graded aerobic exercise is a simple, cheap, and effective treatment for people with fibromyalgia (medically unexplained chronic muscular pain and joint tenderness), finds a study in this week’s BMJ. Researchers identified 132 patients with fibromyalgia who were attending a hospital rheumatology clinic between January 1997 and June 1998. Patients were then randomly assigned to either aerobic exercise classes or relaxation classes, twice weekly for 12 weeks. The classes were carried out by p

Smoke-free workplaces not only protect non-smokers from the dangers of passive smoking, they also encourage smokers to quit or to reduce consumption, concludes a study in this week’s BMJ. Researchers in California reviewed 26 studies on the effects of smoke-free workplaces. Totally smoke-free workplaces were associated with reductions in prevalence of smoking of nearly 4%. The combined effects of people stopping smoking and reducing consumption reduces total cigarette consumption by 2

A synthetic antioxidant developed by researchers at National Jewish Medical and Research Center improves the survival of islet cells used in transplants for diabetes. The findings, reported in the August issue of the journal Diabetes by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh, could help overcome a significant drawback of the “Edmonton Protocol,” a promising treatment for diabetes. “The antioxidant neutralizes the harmful free radicals generated when islet cells are isolated from the pan

A University of Michigan physicist and a research scientist are questioning the belief that bigger and heavier vehicles are automatically safer than other cars and trucks. U-M physicist Marc Ross and Tom Wenzel, a research scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), recently released a report which shows that vehicle quality is actually a better predictor of safety – both for the driver and for other drivers – than weight. The two will discuss their results at a briefi

New field studies produce environment-friendly results An Arizona State University researcher is making good use of some of the 14 million Firestone tires that were recalled two years ago. The tires were used on Ford Explorers and recalled after reports of tread separation. How to dispose of all those used tires without causing serious environmental hazards once had state officials scratching their heads, but Civil and Environmental Engineering Professor Han Zhu believes has the answe

University of Pennsylvania Museum archaeologists have discovered a 3700-year-old “magical” birth brick inside the palatial residence of a Middle Kingdom mayor’s house just outside Abydos, in southern Egypt. The colorfully decorated mud birth brick–the first ever found–is one of a pair that would have been used to support a woman’s feet while squatting during actual childbirth. The birth brick, which measures 14 by 7 inches, was discovered during summer 2001 excavations directed b