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EAST LANSING, Mich. — Transforming vacant urban lots into farms and community gardens could provide Detroit residents with a majority of their fruits and vegetables.

As city officials ponder proposals for urban farms, a Michigan State University study indicates that a combination of urban farms, community gardens, storage facilities and hoop houses – greenhouses used to extend the growing season – could supply local residents with more than 75 percent of their vegetables and more than 40 percent of their fruits.

Arlington, Va. — New research being presented at the 2010 International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) Pharmaceutical Sciences World Congress (PSWC) in association with the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) Annual Meeting and Exposition will feature an inhalable dry powder antibiotic that when used alone or with current treatments may significantly reduce treatment for tuberculosis (TB) and multi-drug resistant TB.

Years of research are the basis for the latest drugs and treatments for cardiovascular disease. This discussion will highlight early and pre-clinical research that may well be the foundation of treatments to come. Join us for an informal Q&A with researchers who are passionate about the details of battling cardiovascular disease. We'll discuss a range of topics, from a possible drug target to regulate HDL cholesterol, to injectable goo that boosts heart function, and heart cell "balls" that take cellular therapy to another dimension.

Arlington, Va. — New research being presented at the 2010 International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) Pharmaceutical Sciences World Congress (PSWC) in association with the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) Annual Meeting and Exposition will feature an inhalable dry powder antibiotic that when used alone or with current treatments may significantly reduce treatment for tuberculosis (TB) and multi-drug resistant TB.

With the help of babies and more than 5,000 of their diapers, Emory University researchers have developed an accurate, noninvasive method to determine estrogen levels in infants.

Conover worked closely with UC's Steve Pelikan, a math professor, who crunched all the data from the surveys. Pelikan said he found both the number of earlier-flowering plants and the temperature change from one survey to the next to be statistically significant.

Using particles that are 1/100,000 the width of a human hair to deliver drugs to cells or assist plants in fighting off pests may sound like something out of a science fiction movie, but these scenarios may be a common occurrence in the near future.

By examining the distinct wave patterns formed from complex biochemical reactions within the human body, diseased organs may be more effectively identified, says Zhengdong Cheng, associate professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University, who has developed a model that simulates how these wave patterns are generated.

University of Alberta research has discovered a strong link between depression and risky sexual behaviours such as improper condom use, transactional sex and relationship violence among young people in South Africa.

The research shows that depression is common among young South Africans, and could be making a significant contribution towards the HIV epidemic.

A less invasive procedure for treating a congenital heart defect in children is a safe alternative to traditional surgery with no five-year difference in risk of death and is associated with a 62 percent reduced risk for neurological events (such as strokes or seizures), according to a study presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2010.

Strokes, seizures and other neurological complications related to heart surgery account for "considerable morbidity and mortality," Loyola University Health System neurologists report in the November issue of the journal Hospital Practice.

Other complications include delirium, central nervous system infections, pituitary gland problems, spinal cord or peripheral nerve injuries, residual effects of anesthesia and medication toxicity.

FT. LAUDERDALE-DAVIE Fla. ---- A Nova Southeastern University (NSU) researcher has announced a breakthrough discovery to block a protein that can contribute to heart failure.

His discovery will appear in an upcoming issue of the prestigious medical journal, the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Anastasios Lymperopoulos, Ph.D., an NSU College of Pharmacy assistant professor of pharmacology, has discovered a novel method, using gene therapy, to block the actions of a gene-encoded protein.

PITTSBURGH—A computer algorithm developed at Carnegie Mellon University matched living kidney donors with medically compatible transplant candidates late last month as the national Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN), operated by the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), began a national pilot program to increase the number of kidney paired-donation (KPD) transplants.

Three days of critical international discussion and debate, led by a panel of experts from the International Society of Clinical Densitometry (ISCD) and the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF), have served to clarify a number of important questions pertaining to the interpretation and use of FRAX® in clinical practice.

Fat cells — liposuctioned from a patient's belly — can safely boost heart function after a heart attack, according to a first-of-its-kind study presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2010.

"The study suggests that these cells can be safely obtained and infused inside the hearts of patients following an acute heart attack," said Eric (HJ) Duckers, M.D., Ph.D., lead author of the small study and head of Molecular Cardiology Laboratory at the Thoraxcenter, Erasmus University Medical Center in Rotterdam, Netherlands.