SCIENCE IN THE NEWS WEEKLY
Gene Therapy 'Gets Better Every Year'
Scientists say gene therapy may be on the verge of a resurgence following reports of three recent successes involving a childhood brain disease, an eye disease and a childhood immune disorder.
Obesity appears to be a risk factor for developing life-threatening complications from H1N1 influenza, researchers reported, and patients over age 50 are most likely to die from the virus, but less likely than children and young adults to contract it in the first place.
In other biomedical news, a large study has found that the old way of doing heart bypass surgery, in which the heart was stopped and a heart-lung machine employed during the procedure, works better than newer "off-pump" surgery.
With $170 million in federal grants, teams of stem cell researchers around the U.S. are joining forces in their quest for new therapies for a variety of human disorders.
Scientists have decoded the DNA of the domestic pig, which may eventually prove useful in finding new treatments for both pigs and people. Researchers use pigs to study everything from obesity and heart disease to skin disorders.
The Los Angeles Times was among media outlets to recount the career of French philosopher Claude Levi-Strauss, widely considered the father of modern anthropology. He died recently at his home in Paris at age 100.
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