June 2002 Archive

UF researchers embark on major multidisciplinary project to shed light on spread of respiratory disease in tortoises

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Building on 10 years of research into an upper respiratory tract disease that has devastated endangered tortoises across the United States, University of Florida scientists hope a new $2.2 million federal grant will help them better grasp how various chronic diseases spread in the animals as well as in people.

Filed under Health, Research, Veterinary on Wednesday, June 26, 2002.

UF Survey: Confused Consumers Give Shaky Nod Of Confidence

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Consumer confidence among Floridians did an about face in June, but the reversal is muddled by mixed signals from state residents apparently perplexed about the true condition of the economy, University of Florida economists said today.

Filed under Research on Tuesday, June 25, 2002.

New Book: For Ancients, Abortion Also A Dilemma

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Titled "Whether what is carried in the womb is a living being?" the essay centers on the question of when human life begins.

Filed under Research on Monday, June 24, 2002.

UF Researcher: New Classification System Helps Assess Prognosis For Patients With Pancreatic Tumors

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Patients with certain pancreatic tumors could benefit from a new way of assessing which growths constitute potentially aggressive cancers that are likely to recur or kill, report scientists at the University of Florida Shands Cancer Center and the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

Filed under Research on Thursday, June 20, 2002.

Florida Scientists Report Indications Of Link Between Brain Stem Cells And Brain Tumors

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — University of Florida scientists report they have found the first evidence of a link between stem cells in the brain and the formation of gliomas, the most common type of brain tumors found in adults.

Filed under Research on Wednesday, June 19, 2002.

UF Expert Says "Ecstasy" Increasingly Linked To Deaths From Traffic Accidents, Multiple Drug Overdoses

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The illegal drug ecstasy, already linked to brain and liver damage, may be causing more agony in the nation’s streets and emergency rooms than anyone realizes, says a University of Florida medical expert.

Filed under Research on Wednesday, June 19, 2002.

NASA: UF To Head Major Initiative On Future Spacecraft

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — NASA has chosen the University of Florida as the lead institution in a nearly $16 million research initiative aimed at making space flight as routine, inexpensive and safe as commercial air travel.

Filed under Research on Monday, June 17, 2002.

With Cues From Nature, Scientists Develop New Method To Purify Drugs

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Using what might be described as a biological machine, University of Florida and Finnish researchers have demonstrated an experimental process for drug purification that one day could speed the production and decrease the cost of prescription drugs.

Filed under Research on Monday, June 17, 2002.

UF Researchers: Summer Vacation A Setback For Poor School Children

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — "Summertime and the living is easy" may bring hard lessons to poor children, who often fall years behind in school by not reading during three-month summer vacation breaks, University of Florida researchers say.

Filed under Research on Friday, June 14, 2002.

UF Scientists Design Minuscule Drug Uptake Agents To Carry Out Lifesaving Drug Detoxification

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Drug-binding molecules tiny enough to travel through the body’s smallest capillaries may provide a way to spare the heart and other organs from the toxic effects of drug overdose, according to preliminary laboratory findings by University of Florida scientists.

Filed under Research on Thursday, June 13, 2002.