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Beyond bars

Despite threats of violence, imprisonment and death, writers around the world continue to fight to make their voices heard. The latest issue of Index on Censorship pays tribute to one of the world’s longest running campaigns for free expression, Eng…

Papers of Linus Pauling Added to Gov't Web Site

He was a high school drop-out, a maverick who jumped disciplinary fences, and an activist who was attacked for his political beliefs. Yet he won two Nobel prizes and published more than 500 papers and 11 books. His name was Linus Carl Pauling (1901-1994) and he is probably one of the few scientists to be a household name. Linus Pauling is the eighth scientist to be added to the National Library of Medicine’s (NLM) Profiles in Science Web site (http://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/). He remains the only person in history to win two unshared Nobel Prizes. “Linus Pauling revolutionized the study of chemistry, and made crucial contributions to medical research,” said Dr. Alexa McCray, who heads up the Profiles project.

Why do firms raise prices more readily than reducing them?

Chancellors and central bankers face a perennial headache: booms typically cause inflation, while recessions mainly reduce output without reducing prices or inflation. New research helps explains how this problem emerges through the phenomenon of ‘asymmetric price adjustment’ ? the fact that firms are far quicker to increase prices than to cut them.

Antioxidants May Fight Blood Vessel Blockage, Heart Disease

A UCLA research team has discovered that a popular health supplement and antioxidant vitamins may help prevent atherosclerosis, or blockage of the blood vessels. The findings are reported in the Jan. 13 online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. “Our findings suggest that people who take dietary supplements of L-arginine, an amino acid, and antioxidants, such as vitamins C and E, might be at a lower risk for atherosclerosis and heart disease,” said Dr. Louis J. Ignarro, a 1998 Nobel laureate in medicine and UCLA professor of molecular and medical pharmacology. “This is significant because cardiovascular disease is still the No. 1 cause of death in the United States.”

Scientists Develop New Gene Therapy Approach

Researchers have developed a new gene therapy approach that prevents the AIDS virus from entering human cells. The technique offers a potential way to treat HIV patients and could apply to any disease caused by a gene malfunction, including cancer. The research team created a new application for a genetic technology called small interfering RNA (siRNA). The synthetically designed siRNAs act as a catalyst to reduce the expression of specific genes and slow the progression of disease.