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Breakthrough In The Quantum Control Of Light Could Impact Drug Design
Researchers at UC Santa Barbara have recently demonstrated a breakthrough in the quantum control of photons, the energy quanta of light. This is a significant result in quantum computation, and could eventually have implications in banking, drug design, and other applications.

Taxing Health Benefits Could Be Used To Pay For Expanded Coverage, Drive Out Unnecessary Care, Some Say
Economists say taxing health benefits not only could raise billions per year for health care reform efforts, but also could make the system run better, NPR and KHN report.
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Reps. Ryan, DeLauro To Introduce Bill To Reduce Need For Abortion
Reps. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) and Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) on Thursday will be joined by leaders of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and NARAL Pro-Choice America in announcing the latest version of a bill that aims to reduce the need for abortion by preventing unintended pregnancies, among other measures, Time reports (Sullivan, Time, 7/23). Ryan and DeLauro first introduced a version of the bill in 2006 (Crary, AP/San Francisco Chronicle, 7/22). However, this version "represents a dramatic break from nearly four decades" of political debate since Roe v. Wade, as both conservative antiabortion-rights groups and abortion-rights advocates have expressed support, according to Time (Time, 7/23).The bill would increase support for comprehensive sex education programs, improve access to contraception, expand Medicaid family planning coverage, increase programs for pregnant or parenting college students, and expand adoption assistance. The Congressional Budget Office has not yet conducted a cost-analysis of the bill, the AP/San Francisco Chronicle reports (AP/San Francisco Chronicle, 7/22). In developing the bill, Ryan sought the help of Rachel Laser, director of culture programs at the policy and strategy think-tank Third Way. According to Time, Laser worked with advocates on both sides and modified the bill to help gather their support, while preventing the measure from becoming "uselessly watered down or split into two."DeLauro noted, "We had to reach a level of trust" with people on both sides and allow them time to become more receptive to the bill"s goals, adding, "Because so often this issue has been one about which there was nothing other than trying to score political points." DeLauro said she hopes the Obama administration will look to the bill for guidance as it crafts its strategy for reducing the need for abortion and preventing unintended pregnancies. President Obama is expected to make an announcement about the plan next month, according to Time (Time, 7/23).DeLauro and Ryan also noted that Rahm Emanuel, Obama"s chief of staff, endorsed an earlier version of the bill when he served in the House, which they hope could mean that Obama would support their measure. DeLauro said, "This is a bill that seems to mesh with the president"s interests," adding, "I see no reason why the White House could not endorse it."Joshua DuBois, director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, said the administration is still reviewing the information it has gathered in recent meetings with representatives on both sides of the abortion debate.Laurie Rubiner, director of Planned Parenthood"s Washington, D.C., office, said "This isn"t a radical bill," adding, "It only seems radical because it"s been so long that we could have a constructive conversation ... with both pro-choice and anti-choice groups around the table."The Rev. Joel Hunter -- an antiabortion-rights evangelical pastor in Orlando, Fla., who serves on the White House Faith-Based Advisory Council -- called the bill "a landmark bill for the culture wars -- a prototype for how we can approach things in the future." He said the bill"s strengths were in its appeals to both liberal and conservative beliefs, adding, "When you realize you need someone who"s been an adversary to help you advance your own projects, that"s a big deal" (AP/San Francisco Chronicle, 7/22).
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Brain's Immune System May Cause Chronic Seizures

Chronic seizures caused by traumatic head injuries may result from chemicals released by the brain"s immune system attempting to repair the injured site, according to a study led by the University of Colorado at Boulder. The findings could help prevent one of the most common forms of adult epilepsy, called acquired epilepsy, which is often found in people who have suffered a brain injury or infection, according to CU-Boulder psychology and neuroscience Professor Daniel Barth, the study"s chief author. For decades researchers have focused on neurons as the culprits in seizures, which can be characterized as debilitating "electrical storms" in the brain. However, recent research has shown that micro-glial cells may play a major role in seizures. Researchers have found that glial cells, which are supportive cells that also constitute a major part of the brain"s immune system, cluster within areas in the brain when a severe brain injury has occurred. "When there has been serious damage to the brain, such as a head injury or infection, the immune system is activated and tries to counteract the damage and repair it," Barth said. "These glial cells migrate to the damaged area and release chemicals called cytokines that, unfortunately, also profoundly increase the excitability of the neurons that they are near. "In our new study, we showed for the first time that glial cells moving in and secreting these cytokines cause the neurons in the area to become excitable enough to cause seizures." The results of the study appear in the July issue of the journal Brain. Barth co-authored the paper with CU-Boulder professors of psychology and neuroscience Linda Watkins and Steven Maier, CU-Boulder graduate students Krista Rodgers and Alexis Northcutt and Professor Mark Hutchinson of the University of Adelaide in Australia. The National Institutes of Health funded the study. Acquired epilepsy is one of the few forms of epilepsy that has the potential for being prevented, because known head injuries are often followed by latent periods when changes in the brain lead to the development of chronic seizures. The findings are extremely promising, according to Barth, because if the brain"s initial immunity reaction could be temporarily shut down, this could prevent the development of acquired epilepsy. "After a traumatic brain injury, there is often a period of several months where nothing seems to be happening," Barth said. "And then suddenly the person may start having seizures, which often develop into chronic epilepsy." What the research team believes is happening is that the initial immune response to the brain injury causes the first seizures. Then the adaptive immune system, which works on a longer-term basis, kicks in and makes structural changes in the brain, which could perpetuate epilepsy as a life-long condition, said Barth. Drugs are available on the market that suppress the immune system temporarily, Barth said. Even more promising are drugs currently under Food and Drug Administration trials for human use that cross the blood-brain barrier, which in simple terms means patients can take a pill which will effectively suppress the glial cells and stop them from reacting. "The thought is that maybe there is a window of opportunity where we could go in after an injury and administer one of these immune response inhibitors and stop a process that we think is going to lead to epilepsy," Barth said. "So instead of giving anti-seizure drugs, which have no effect in preventing or subsequently treating post-traumatic epilepsy, we could give some anti-immune drugs which may actually stop the process of developing epilepsy in the first place." The research team came to its conclusions through a series of experiments with rats in which they applied a bacteria called lipopolysaccharide, or LPS, to the brain, activating the micro-glial cells. The glial cells very rapidly clustered around the area where the LPS was applied and created an immune reaction in that locale. The glial cells then released their cytokines, causing the neurons to become excitable enough to cause seizures. By directly applying other drugs that either blocked the activation of glial cells or the effect of cytokines on neurons, all signs of increased brain excitability and seizures were abolished, Barth said. Daniel Barth University of Colorado at Boulder


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