Atlantis, ISS crews greet each other
HOUSTON, Nov. 18 (UPI) -- Space shuttle Atlantis and the International Space Station crews greeted each other Wednesday during a traditional welcoming ceremony.
The shuttle docked with the space station at 11:51 a.m. EST and, after lengthy leak and procedural checks, the hatches between the two spacecraft were opened at 1:28 p.m. EST.
NASA said the hatch opening ceremony also marked the end of astronaut Nicole Stott's 87-day tenure as an Expedition 21 flight engineer. As the hatch to the space station opened she automatically became a member of the STS-129 crew and will return to Earth aboard Atlantis.
That will make STS-129 the final space shuttle crew rotation flight to or from the space station, the space agency said. In the future, ISS crew rotations will be handled by Soyuz spacecraft under Russian command.
Also on Thursday's schedule was the transfer of Express Logistics Carrier 1. It was to be moved from Atlantis' payload bay by the shuttle's robotic arm and handed to the space station's robotic arm.
NASA said the day's activities would end with astronauts Robert Satcher and Mike Foreman "camping out" in the ISS Quest Airlock to prepare for their Thursday spacewalk.
With only five missions left before the end of the shuttle program, Atlantis is delivering more than 20,000 pounds worth of spare equipment too large to fit aboard any other existing spacecraft.
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Postmortem genetic tests to help relatives
ROCHESTER, Minn., Nov. 18 (UPI) -- U.S. researchers say postmortem tests to identify genetic mutations could help relatives at risk of heart disease and save money.
Dr. Michael J. Ackerman of the Long QT Syndrome Clinic and the Windland Smith Rice Sudden Death Genomics Laboratory at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., says testing deceased patients can identify mutations that cause cellular dysfunctions leading to heart rhythm disturbances and possibly sudden cardiac death. Such inherited genetic defects occur in 25 percent to 30 percent of victims of sudden unexplained death, said Ackerman, the lead researcher for the study.
The study findings, presented at the American Heart Association's scientific sessions in Orlando, Fla., suggest postmortem testing to identify mutations associated with sudden cardiac death would be less expensive than comprehensive cardiac tests for surviving relatives.
Genetic/molecular autopsy testing in 146 cases of sudden unexplained death showed 40 of the victims had one of two mutations.
Researchers estimated the total cost of doing postmortem genetic testing, genetic confirmation testing of relatives of mutation-positive victims, followed by cardiac tests for both relatives of mutation-positive and mutation-negative sudden death victims was $6.78 million.
In contrast, the total cost associated with what is currently recommended and covered by insurance carriers -- comprehensive cardiac testing for all 584 relatives, regardless of mutation status, followed by directed genetic testing -- would exceed $7.7 million.
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'Star Trek-like' device paralyzes animals
BURNABY, British Columbia, Nov. 18 (UPI) -- Canadian scientists say they've created a science fiction-like technology that paralyzes animals by exposing them to a beam of ultraviolet light.
The researchers at Simon Fraser University say the animals remain paralyzed until they are exposed to ordinary light. They said the achievement marks the first demonstration of such a light-activated switch in animals.
Professor Neil Branda and colleagues said internal light-sensitive materials that undergo photoreactions have been available for years. But in the new study, the researchers developed and successfully tested photoswitching materials composed of dithienylethene, a light-sensitive substance.
The scientists said they grew transparent, pinhead-sized worms (C. elegans) and fed them dithienylethene. When exposed to ultraviolet light, the worms turned blue and became paralyzed. When exposed to visible light, the dithienylethene became colorless again and the worms' paralysis ended.
The complex research is detailed in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
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FDA: Don't use Plavix along with Prilosec
WASHINGTON, Nov. 18 (UPI) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning patients against using the stomach acid reducer Prilosec with the anti-clotting drug Plavix.
FDA officials said new data suggests when patients take both Prilosec (omeprazole) and Plavix (clopidogrel), Plavix's ability to block platelet aggregation, its anti-clotting effect, might be reduced by about half.
Plavix is used to prevent blood clots that could lead to heart attacks or strokes in at-risk patients, the FDA said. Omeprazole, the active ingredient of Prilosec, is a proton pump inhibitor used to reduce the production of stomach acid and prevent stomach irritation.
The FDA said Plavix does not have anti-clotting effects until it is converted or metabolized into its active form with the help of a liver enzyme. Prilosec blocks that enzyme, thereby reducing the effectiveness of Plavix.
Officials said it's not known how other medications might interfere with Plavix. But the FDA said other drugs that should not be used with Plavix include Nexium, Tagamet, Diflucan, Nizoral, VFEND, Intelence, Felbatol, Prozac, Serafem, Symbyax, Luvox and Ticlid.
Conversely, the FDA said Zantac, Pepcid, Axid and antacids are not expected to interfere with the anti-clotting activity of Plavix.
