Of Human Interest: News lite

NOT ENOUGH PHARMACISTS

North Carolina has a shortage of pharmacists, especially in rural counties, say researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

From 1991 to 2000, the state's population rose by 19 percent, the number of retail prescriptions dispensed per capita increased 52 percent and the number of retail pharmacists per 10,000 people dropped by 3 percent.

Researchers say the bottom line is the average pharmacist's workload increased 57 percent -- filling one prescription every five minutes in 2000, compared to one every eight minutes in 1991.

Also contributing to the shortage is the move to the doctor of pharmacy degree as the minimum educational credential for practice -- allowing pharmacists to do more patient counseling and research and move away from traditional pill dispensing jobs.

VITAMIN A FOR SKIN CANCER PREVENTION

California researchers are testing whether a derivative of vitamin A could be used to prevent skin cancer in people susceptible to the disease. The tests are on topical tazarotene to prevent basal cell carcinoma and so far results in mice experiments are promising.

The researchers found an 85 percent inhibition of both tumor number and size in the tazarotene-treated mice compared to mice given a placebo.

Tazarotene currently is used on the skin for acne and psoriasis and while oral or pill-form retinoids have been shown to shrink tumors, they usually are not tolerated well for long periods of treatment, making them unusable for preventive strategies.

Dr. Ervin Epstein Jr., of the University of California School of Medicine at San Francisco, says newer topical retinoids, like tazarotene, may provide a safer alternative.

NEW AFRICAN-AMERICAN LIBRARY TO OPEN

The third library in the United States dedicated to African-American culture and literature is opening this week in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

The Miami Herald reports the African-American Research Library and Cultural Center will feature works by Alex Haley, Maya Angelou and James Baldwin, music by Lena Horne and Nat King Cole and first editions signed by Martin Luther King and Langston Hughes.

The 60,000-square-foot facility will feature firsthand accounts of slave life, bronze and wood sculptures from Africa and an extensive private assortment of books on Caribbean life and culture, the Herald says.

It's expected to draw scholars from throughout the world -- and to unite South Florida's black residents across county lines, Marvin Dunn, of Florida International University, told the paper.

FORGET THE WINE, BUT THE COOKIES STAY

The budget crunch has come to Milwaukee-based Midwest Express Airlines, which made it's name by serving free warm chocolate chip cookies to passengers who sit in wide, leather seats -- even in coach.

Onboard meals were gourmet -- chicken breasts stuffed with wild rice -- served on real china with linen napkins. The wine was free, the fares were moderate.

The airline bakes about 4 million cookies a year so when deciding what to cut, Chairman Timothy Hoeksema joked about eliminating the cookies. "People would lynch me if we did that," he told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

To save millions of dollars the gourmet menus will be pared down, free champagne will be served instead of wine and the linen will give way to paper.

Kevin Mitchell, chairman of the Business Travel Coalition, a group that represents business travelers, told the paper, "Even if Midwest were to cut its meals budget in half, there would be enough money left to seriously set the airline apart from its competitors."