Ph.D. candidate Nina Isoherranen wins Kaye Awards

Nina Isoherranen, a Ph.D. candidate at the Hebrew University School of Pharmacy, was awarded a Kaye Innovation Award this week for developing a new medication to treat epilepsy, migraine headaches, and chronic pain that does not cause birth defects in animal models, unlike other medicines currently used to treat epilepsy.

Ms. Isoherranen explained that 1% of the population suffers from epilepsy, a central nervous system (CNS)

Inks which cannot be photocopied – to confound bank-note forgers – are exciting printers of most of the world`s major currencies. A team from colour chemistry, led by Professor David Lewis and Dr Long Lin, has created an ink which changes colour when copied or scanned, to prevent forgers colour matching banknotes.

“There are already hundreds of security measures in place for banknotes,” said Professor Lewis. “But these don`t stop forgeries – some estimates put the number of forged banknotes

Consider the plight of the lonely nene goose: Fated to occupy just one island in all the world; reduced in numbers to fewer than 30 individuals by the middle of the last century; each bird as closely related to the others as human siblings.

What caused the narrowing of the nenes’ circumstances to the point of near-extinction? Was the isolation of island living to blame for draining their gene pool to a puddle, or was it caused by the 20th century population decline? How did they surviv

Study of Lupus Patient Confirms Promise of Stem Cell Transplant Therapy
Findings Indicate Need for Wider Clinical Trials

For patients with severe autoimmune diseases, blood stem cell transplantation may be promising therapy option. This process involves an infusion of healthy blood cells to replace the body`s own malfunctioning ones and restore immune function. A recent case study, published in the June 2002 issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism, has shown this approach to be particul

Prioritise resources towards primary prevention, say EUROPREVAL researchers

The largest study on the prevalence of cancer in Europe is published today (Thursday 6 June) in Annals of Oncology, journal of the European Society for Medical Oncology.

Thirty-eight cancer registries in 17 countries provided data on 3 million cancer patients for EUROPREVAL. An objective of the study was to provide health systems with essential information for health planning and resource allocation.

British consultants, Oakdene Hollins, have published a technical and commercial study of how an electrolytic production process developed at Cambridge University could transform prospects for the exploitation of rare-earth magnets. The process is already attracting development funds from the US Navy.

Rare-earth permanent magnets offer significantly improved performance characteristics over those of conventional magnets, but are more expensive. Although costs have fallen over recent years due