Faculty Bibliography

In making those advances, Dr. [Aaron T. Beck] set a new standard for determining the effectiveness of any type of psychotherapy, the Lasker jury said, by testing his radical new methods in clinical studies with a degree of rigor not previously applied to any form of talk therapy, including Freudian psychoanalysis. Dr. Beck published much of his work in his own journal, Cognitive Therapy and Research, in part because other psychiatrists resisted, if not rejected, his findings. The four other Lasker winners are Dr. Elizabeth H. Blackburn, 57, of the University of California, San Francisco; Dr. Joseph Gall, 78, of the Department of Embryology at the Carnegie Institution, Baltimore; Dr. Carol W. Greider, 45, of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine; and Dr. Jack W. Szostak, 53, of Harvard Medical School. The awards to those four were made in two categories. Three of the recipients were cited for discoveries involving the structure and function of chromosomes, which are the strands of genes in cells that pass on hereditary information. Dr. Blackburn, Dr. Greider and Dr. Szostak are sharing the Lasker basic medical research award for predicting the existence of telomerase, and then discovering it. Telomerase is an enzyme that replenishes the tips of chromosomes

Four million people in the world became infected with H.I.V. last year, raising to 40 million the number now living with the virus that causes AIDS. Though governments, foundations and others are spending billions of dollars each year, the United Nations and AIDS experts say billions more are needed for drugs to help infected people in poor countries and for measures to prevent others from becoming infected. The Stephen Lewis Foundation of Toronto showed considerable imagination. The foundation, created by Mr. Lewis, the United Nations special envoy for AIDS in Africa, conducted a highly successful grass-roots gathering of about 300 African and Canadian grandmothers over the three days before the AIDS conference. African grandmothers who have lost children to AIDS and are now caring for their grandchildren described their lives to Canadian grandmothers (very few of whom are dealing with AIDS in their immediate families). The AIDS conferences, held every two years, aim to bridge science, politics and a number of other fields. The International AIDS Society's duty extends beyond holding conferences, said Dr. Pedro Cahn, an Argentine AIDS expert who is the group's new president. ''We have to raise our voice,'' Dr. Cahn said of the scientists who are the society's leaders

Earlier devices were much larger and intended as a bridge to heart transplants. The titanium and plastic Abiomed device can be used only in patients who are near death from the failure of both of the natural heart's pumping chambers. It can be implanted only in people 18 and older who are ineligible for a transplant and whose life expectancy would be a month without it. The diseased heart is removed to make room for the two-pound, or 0.9 kilogram, device. Implanted, a coil transfers power across the skin and recharges the device from the outside. An internal battery and a controller that monitors and controls the heart rate are implanted in the abdomen. The approval on Tuesday followed an extensive review of the panel's concerns and discussions with Abiomed, agency officials said. A second advisory panel review was not warranted because of the talks with Abiomed, said Heidi Valetkevitch, a spokeswoman for the agency. No implants were performed while the petition to sell the device was under review

The titanium and plastic Abiomed device can be used only in patients who are near death from the failure of both of the natural heart's pumping chambers. It can be implanted only in people 18 and older who are ineligible for a transplant and whose life expectancy would be a month without it

The meeting, in Johannesburg on Thursday and Friday, comes in response to recent reports from a number of the world's regions about a small but growing number of cases of the deadly strains, known as extreme drug-resistant tuberculosis, or XDR-TB. Although the resistant strains have been identified in all regions of the world, especially Asia and the former Soviet Union, the immediate goal is to help South Africa control an outbreak that killed 52 of 53 patients in a rural province in recent months. The deaths occurred swiftly, on average within 25 days, and included patients who were taking antiretroviral drugs for H.I.V., the virus that causes AIDS. If the strain keeps spreading, it could exceed by ''hundreds of times'' the outbreak of drug-resistant tuberculosis in New York City in the 1990's, Dr. [Mario C. Raviglione] said. That outbreak was brought under control by adopting strong measures, including observation of infected patients to make sure they took their drugs properly

The titanium and plastic Abiomed device can be used just in patients who are near death from the failure of both of the natural heart's pumping chambers. The device can be implanted only in people 18 and older who are ineligible for a transplant and whose life expectancy would be a month without it. In June 2005, a panel of heart experts appointed to advise the F.D.A. voted, 7 to 6, against approving the Abiomed device, in part because of concern that the risks from complications like bleeding, strokes and infection outweighed the benefits. Some panel members expressed concern about whether patients would live long enough with an improved quality of life to justify the risks. Abiomed is aiming to keep patients alive 18 to 24 months with the device, primarily by selecting slightly healthier candidates for the implant. The company has a target of 2008 to introduce an improved design that is 30 percent smaller and intended to work for five years, Mr. [Michael R. Minogue] said

South Africa has the largest number of H.I.V.-infected people in the world. Its president, Thabo Mbeki, has continually expressed skepticism that H.I.V. causes AIDS, and the country has questioned antiretroviral treatment and delayed providing it to pregnant women and AIDS patients. Other speakers urged training more nurses and health workers in poor countries to deliver the antiretroviral drugs and preventive measures needed to stop the AIDS epidemic. The many international programs that are scaling up efforts to deliver antiretroviral drugs to poor people cannot succeed without large numbers of health workers to monitor the care of AIDS patients. As the conference speakers delivered their remarks, hundreds of Africans, Asians and people from around the world began dismantling the global village created here to promote discussion of H.I.V. One exhibit, called ''Dress Up Against AIDS,'' included 10 dresses by Adriana Bertini, a Brazilian artist, made from thousands of condoms. Nearby were women from the Masaka district of Uganda who displayed their crafts, including mats, straw bowls and drums. In another booth, Kenyan workers showed off sandals and beaded necklaces. In others, attendants handed out pamphlets on programs for H.I.V. and AIDS

In a keynote address, Stephen Lewis, the United Nations' ambassador to Africa for AIDS, said South Africa 'is the only country in Africa whose government continues to propound theories more worthy of a lunatic fringe than of a concerned and compassionate state.' South Africa has the largest number of HIV-infected people in the world. South Africa's President Thabo Mbeki has continually expressed skepticism that HIV causes AIDS, and the country has questioned anti-retroviral treatment and delayed providing it to pregnant women and AIDS patients. Nurses and others involved in the care of AIDS patients often work in unsafe or dangerous conditions, said Dr. Pedro Cahn, the new president of the International AIDS Society, the main organizer of the AIDS conferences. This conference was the largest ever, drawing 26,057 participants. The next AIDS conference will be held in Mexico City in August 2008

The official, Dr. Kevin De Cock, who directs the organization's AIDS program, said Wednesday that around the world an estimated 2.3 million children 15 and under are infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, and that 800,000 of them needed anti-retroviral drugs to stay alive. Of the 800,000, only 60,000 to 100,000 are receiving therapy. At the same time, De Cock said, fewer than 10 percent of pregnant women with HIV in poor and middle-income countries are receiving the simple regimen of pills that can prevent the transmission of the AIDS virus to their newborns. By contrast, rich countries have virtually eliminated pediatric AIDS. Many critics also said that HIV would develop a resistance to the drugs if people in poor countries did not take them as prescribed. De Cock said the World Health Organization was watching for drug resistance among patients receiving anti-retroviral therapy and that the information would start to become available later this year