U.S. might loose technological leadership
DURHAM, N.C., March 5 (UPI) -- A Duke University survey indicates half of U.S. citizens asked expect another nation to emerge this century as the world's leader in technology.
The survey, commissioned by Duke's Pratt School of Engineering, showed that although 34 percent of respondents gave themselves a grade of A or B for understanding "the world of engineers and what they do," 72 percent nonetheless expect the technological advancements of the 21st century to surpass those of the previous century.
However, 49 percent of those asked predict the United States will lead the way in producing those advances, to the survey of 808 U.S. adults carried out Jan. 22-25 by Hart Research Associates indicates.
China was cited by 20 percent of respondents as being most likely to assume the technological leadership position, followed by Japan and Europe at 10 percent each and India at 4 percent.
"Americans understand that innovation is critical to their future but also recognize that our country's continued leadership isn't assured just because we invented everything from the airplane to the personal computer," said Thomas Katsouleas, dean of the Pratt School. "The survey shows that when Americans focus on how central engineers are to solving our biggest problems, they come to view the discipline as essential and want to attract more talented young people to it."
The survey results are available at http://tinyurl.com/nsr33.
Gene modifies cystic fibrosis lung disease
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C., March 5 (UPI) -- U.S. medical scientists involved in an international study say they've identified a gene that modifies lung disease severity in people with cystic fibrosis.
Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center researchers said the research is the first published study to search the entire genome looking for genes that modify the severity of cystic fibrosis lung disease.
Carl Langefeld, a study co-author and Wake Forest University School of Medicine researcher, said the findings might "help in the identification of targets for drug development and the development of tools for the earlier diagnosis of individuals with cystic fibrosis who are susceptible to severe lung disease."
After analyzing the genetic makeup of nearly 3,000 cystic fibrosis patients, researchers found small genetic differences in a gene called IFRD1 correlate with lung disease severity. They discovered the protein encoded by IFRD1 is particularly abundant in a type of white blood cell called neutrophils, and that it regulates their function.
"Neutrophils … are important to the immune system's response to bacterial infection," said senior investigator Dr. Christopher Karp of Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. "In cystic fibrosis, however, neutrophilic airway inflammation is dysregulated, eventually destroying the lung."
The study was reported in the Feb. 25 online edition of the journal Nature in advance of print publication.
Antelope species in danger of extinction
GENEVA, Switzerland, March 5 (UPI) -- A Swiss conservation group says one-quarter of the Earth's antelope species are threatened with extinction and nine species are considered endangered.
"Unsustainable harvesting, whether for food or traditional medicine and human encroachment on their habitat are the main threats facing antelopes," said Philippe Chardonnet, co-chairman of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's antelope specialist group. "Most antelopes are found in developing countries, which is why it's critically important that we collaborate with local communities there since it is in their own interest to help preserve these animals."
Five species of antelope are considered critically endangered -- the highest category of threat. They are the Dama Gazelle (Nanger dama), Aders' Duiker (Cephalophus adersi), the Saiga Antelope (Saiga tatarica), Hirola (Beatragus hunteri) and Addax (Addax nasomaculatus).
Nine species are in the next category of threat, endangered, and another nine are classified as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
The organization said, overall, populations are stable in 31 percent of antelope species and decreasing in 62 percent. The Springbok (Antidorcas marsupialis), a native of southern Africa, is the only antelope species with a long-term increasing trend, mainly as a result of the game ranching industry, officials said.
Malaria drug can kill two lethal viruses
NEW YORK, March 5 (UPI) -- U.S. medical scientists say they've discovered two lethal viruses that cause encephalitis and respiratory disease are susceptible to chloroquine treatment.
Researchers at the Weill Cornell Medical College in New York said chloroquine, a drug used to prevent and treat malaria, kills the Hendra virus and the Nipah virus -- both harbored by fruit bats. The viruses that emerged during the 1990s in Australia and Southeast Asia can produce a 75 percent fatality rate in humans.
"The fact that chloroquine is safe and widely used in humans means that it may bypass the usual barriers associated with drug development and move quickly into clinical trials," said Professor Anne Moscona, the study's senior author. "Chloroquine stands a good chance of making it through the development process in time to prevent further outbreaks of these deadly infections."
Hendra and Nipah are zoonotic pathogens. That means they originate in certain animals, but can jump between animal species and between animals and humans. There are currently no vaccines or treatments against the two henipaviruses, which are listed by the U.S. government as possible bioterrorism agents, the researchers said.
The study appears online in the Journal of Virology in advance of the journal's April print issue.
