Science Education & Policy

A relatively small proportion of individuals with hypertension (high blood pressure) eat diets that align with government guidelines for controlling the disease, according to a report in the February 11 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. In fact, since the introduction of a diet shown to help reduce blood pressure, the dietary quality of those with hypertension has decreased. Results of the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) trial, published in 1997, indicated that a diet high in fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy products could…

Doctors are adjusting their bedside manner as better informed patients make ever-increasing demands and expect to be listened to, and fully involved, in clinical decisions that directly affect their care. You know, how doctors always said patients should be. In a study just published in Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research, Dr. J. Bohannon Mason of the Orthocarolina Hip and Knee Center in Charlotte, NC, USA, says changes in society, the population and technology are influencing the way patients view their orthopaedic surgeons. As patients gain knowledge, their attitude to medicine…

WASHINGTON, February 16 /PRNewswire/ -- - President Praised for Creating PEPFAR; However, Proposed Changes in Priorities Cut Heart from Lifesaving Effort As President Bush begins a five-country tour of Africa to visit and highlight programs funded by the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the five year-old US global AIDS program which Congress created at his request, AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) (http://www.aidshealth.org) today cautioned the President that his legacy as a leader in the global fight against HIV and AIDS is at risk due to proposed changes in the…

LONDON, February 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Prospects new Managing Director will be Vincent McDonnell, currently Director of Learning at CfBT Education Trust. He will take over in his new post at the end of March. Vincent worked in senior positions in Birmingham, Sheffield and then Staffordshire Local Education Authorities, before moving to the London Borough of Richmond as Chief Education Officer in February 1998. Then, in April 2000, he moved to Cambridge Education, to lead the outsourced education service in Islington, turning around what had been identified as a failing service into what was…

"Scientists are supposed to be allowed to follow the evidence wherever it may lead…This attack on scientific freedom was so egregious that it prompted a congressional investigation." -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Best known as the lovable, deadpan economics teacher in "Ferris Beuller's Day Off," Ben Stein takes his role in the movie "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed" very seriously but with perceptible passion. In the controversial documentary which opens this spring, the former presidential speechwriter, economist and self-described "scold" travels the world speaking with scientists, chemists…

SYDNEY, Australia, February 15 /PRNewswire/ -- In the news release, "Scholarships for Indigenous Australians: Education is the Key" issued on 15 Feb 2008 04:22 GMT, by Mary MacKillop Foundation Australia over PR Newswire, we are advised by a representative of the company that four additional paragraphs should be included in the beginning of the release. Complete, corrected release follows: February 13 was a momentous day in Australia as the Prime Minister formally apologised to members of the Indigenous stolen generation. He did this on behalf of the current Australian government and…

MELBOURNE, Australia, February 15 /PRNewswire/ -- In a landmark study electronically published today in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, a blood test for detecting TB infection, QuantiFERON(R)-TB Gold (QFT(TM)), has been shown to be six times more accurate than the conventional tuberculin skin test (TST) at predicting which tuberculosis (TB)-exposed individuals will go on to develop TB disease. This study has important implications for the worldwide effort to eradicate TB, as accurately indentifying TB-infected individuals allows health authorities to treat…

SYDNEY, Australia, February 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Dr Janelle Trees, a descendant of the Daingadi clan, is the first indigenous student to graduate with Honours at the University of Sydney's medical school through the graduate entry program. A sole parent, Dr Trees believes one of the most important effects of the scholarship has been an insight into the long-learned 'poverty mentality.' "I have been able to show that it is possible to study medicine when you come from different circumstances," she said. For Annette Duggan, a Bachelor Degree in Education has enabled her to become a role model…

LONDON, February 14 /PRNewswire/ -- The 13 members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) pumped an average 32.25 million (m) barrels per day (b/d) of crude oil in January, or a 220,000 b/d increase from December's rate of 32.03 million b/d, a Platts (http://www.platts.com/) survey of OPEC and oil industry officials showed February 14. The biggest single increase came from Saudi Arabia, which boosted volumes to 9.2 million b/d in January from 9.02 million b/d in December. The UAE boosted production to 2.59 million b/d from 2.5 million b/d in December after a field…

The United States will be home to a $1 trillion carbon emission market by 2020 if federal and state policymakers continue on their current path towards a comprehensive "cap-and-trade" program that is confined to domestic trading only. In an analysis of bills today before the U.S. Congress, New Carbon Finance research economists based in New York, Washington D.C. and London, U.K. predict that in 12 years a carbon-constrained U.S. economy that includes a cap-and-trade system allowing only domestic trades will produce: A $1 trillion carbon trading market -- more than twice the size of the…