u s army

Neurotoxicity of insecticide yields clues to Parkinson's

Virginia Tech researchers have discovered that exposure to some insecticides may cause a cascade of chemical events in the brain that could lead to Parkinson?s Disease. “We found low-level exposures set in motion a process with an early onset that develops slowly and is persistent,” one of the lead researchers said. “More surprising is that high-level exposures resulted in few immediate effects that we could observe, but in the longer term there was a delayed effect.”

Army to be in charge of putting out Iraqi oil well fires

The Department of Defense has designated the Army as Executive Agent for implementing plans to extinguish oil well fires and to assess the damage to oil facilities during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
The plan, which was turned over to the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), encompasses the full range of activities that might be necessary to restore or continue the operation of the Iraqi oil infrastructure, which is of vital importance to the future health of Iraq?s economy.

Army team testing ‘breathing’ catheter; bypasses lungs to supply oxygen

Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center are partnering with U.S. Army scientists to evaluate the merit of the experimental Hattler Respiratory Catheter for use in battlefield medicine ? particularly as a possible treatment for lung injuries sustained in biochemical attacks. Made up in part of a tightly bound fabric of microporous polypropylene hollow-fiber membranes, the catheter is inserted temporarily through a vein into the leg or neck and threaded into a major vein near the heart called the vena cava. Early tests show that it can substitute 40 percent to 60 percent of a patient?s compromised lung function.