Faculty Bibliography

Until 1997, scientists had not believed it was even possible for an avian influenza virus to pass directly from birds to people without first combining with a mammalian influenza virus. Pigs can harbor avian and mammalian influenza viruses while showing no ill effects, and have been blamed for periodically allowing new avian influenza viruses into human populations that have little if any immunity to them. Many mammalian influenza viruses have already mastered the tricky secret of passing easily from person to person. These viruses kill 36,000 people a year in the United States. The ideal strategy for the A(H5N1) virus would be to infect a person already carrying a human influenza virus and then swap genetic material with it. Because pigs can readily carry human and avian influenza viruses, they could also be the mixing vessels for a new virus. Thai and Vietnamese officials have said they are testing pigs extensively. The virus has been detected in at least two pigs in southeastern China. Dr. Klaus Stohr, the W.H.O.'s top influenza expert, said that while recombination of the avian influenza virus would probably be a slow process, a reassortment of genes by human and avian influenza viruses could happen ''very rapidly, practically within days.''

To show his full recovery from the orthopedic surgery that he underwent last spring to repair tears in a biceps tendon and a muscle in his right shoulder, [John Kerry] thrust both arms straight up as if to signal a touchdown and smiled. Before the operation, pain and weakness hindered him from raising his right arm overhead or lifting an object. CT scan X-rays taken at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, however, show two pieces of metal shrapnel embedded in Kerry's left thigh, next to the femur, said Dr. Gerald Doyle, Kerry's personal physician in Boston. Doctors treating the wound in 1969 decided to leave the shrapnel in place

While no specific examples of gouging were cited at the news conference, Dr. David Lang, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Children's Hospital of Orange County in California, said in a telephone interview that a vendor had called a pharmacist at his hospital offering to sell the flu vaccine made by Aventis for 10 times the usual amount. On Tuesday, the British government halted vaccine shipments to the United States because of concerns about contamination at a factory owned by the Chiron Corporation of Emeryville, Calif. Now health officials are trying to ration the flu shots, asking healthy people to let the vaccine go to those who need it more

The molecules start a process by which olfactory cells send messages to the olfactory bulb, a structure in the front of the brain that is a clearinghouse for the sense of smell. Information from the olfactory bulb is then relayed to other parts of the brain where it is combined to form a pattern in a system of smell that allows humans and animals to distinguish good from bad. The scientists discovered a large gene family, made up of 1,000 different genes representing about 3 percent of all genes in the body. The olfactory genes give rise to an equivalent number of olfactory receptors located on 5 million cells in a small area in the upper part of the nostrils. The cells are highly specialized to detect molecules of a few inhaled odors. Someday, Dr. [Richard Axel] said, scientists may identify the odor receptors in the nose of malaria-carrying mosquitoes and other disease-causing insects that attracts them to humans. If scientists could block an insect's ability to smell a food source, they might be able to create effective repellents that, unlike pesticides, would not harm other living things and the environment

The molecules start a process by which olfactory cells send messages to the olfactory bulb, a structure in the front of the brain that is a clearinghouse for the sense of smell. Information from the olfactory bulb is then relayed to other parts of the brain where it is combined to form a pattern in a system of smell that allows humans and animals to distinguish good from bad. The scientists discovered a large gene family, comprising 1,000 different genes representing about 3 percent of all genes in the body. The olfactory genes give rise to an equivalent number of olfactory receptors located on 5 million cells in a small area in the upper part of the nostrils. The cells are highly specialized to detect molecules of a few inhaled odors. Someday, [Richard Axel] said, scientists might identify the odor receptors in the nose of malaria-carrying mosquitoes and other disease- causing insects that attracts them to humans. If scientists could block an insect's ability to smell a food source, they might be able to create effective repellents that, unlike pesticides, would not harm other living things and the environment

[John Kerry], who has signed a living will outlining his wishes if he is incapacitated, said he and his running mate, Senator John Edwards, who represents North Carolina, had not discussed how a transfer of power, if necessary, would be invoked under the 25th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. CT scan X-rays taken at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston document that two pieces of metal shrapnel are embedded deep in Kerry's left thigh, next to the femur, said Gerald Doyle, Kerry's personal physician in Boston, who reviewed the X-rays at the request of this reporter, a physician as well. Kerry takes no medications on a regular basis. But last summer Doyle said he might recommend that Kerry start taking a statin drug, which lowers cholesterol, after the election

[John Kerry]'s doctors said they had told him that he was cured. They based their optimism on an array of tests and concluded that he had a less than 3 percent chance of a recurrence in the next nine years. Even if the cancer came back, it could be treated without seriously interfering with presidential duties, Kerry's doctors and experts said. CT scan X-rays taken at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston document that two pieces of metal shrapnel are embedded deep in Kerry's left thigh, next to the femur, said Dr. Gerald J. Doyle, Kerry's personal physician in Boston. Doctors treating the wound in 1969 decided to leave the shrapnel in place. '

[John Kerry]'s participation in activities such as windsurfing, bicycle races and weight lifting has kept him exceptionally fit, he said. 'For somebody who is running for president,' Kerry said, 'I'm in about as good a shape as I think anybody could be.' CT scan X-rays document that two pieces of metal shrapnel are embedded deep in Kerry's left thigh, next to the femur, said Dr. Gerald Doyle, Kerry's personal physician, who reviewed the X-rays at the request of this reporter, a physician as well. 'One piece of shrapnel is about the size of a bullet, the other a bit smaller,' Doyle said. Kerry takes no medications on a regular basis. But Doyle said last summer that he might recommend that Kerry start taking a statin drug, which lowers cholesterol, after the election

CUYAHOGA FALLS, Ohio President [George Bush] on Saturday criticized Sen. [John Kerry] for suggesting that pre-emptive military action by the United States would have to pass a 'global test,' saying that the 'Kerry doctrine' would cede national security decisions to other countries

The shoulder operation last March was Mr. Kerry's second on that joint. He has also had surgery three other times for sports-related knee injuries, said Dr. Bertram Zarins, an orthopedist at Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Zarins said that Mr. Kerry injured one knee twice (skiing and soccer), and the other playing softball. Mr. Kerry takes no medications on a regular basis. But last summer Dr. [Gerald J. Doyle] said that he might recommend that Mr. Kerry start taking a statin drug, which lowers cholesterol, after the election. The reason was that tests of his total cholesterol and ''bad'' cholesterol, or L.D.L., showed that the counts had risen over the last two years. Nevertheless, the new test results were better. Mr. Kerry's total cholesterol was 194 and his L.D.L. 122. Dr. Doyle said that he would like to lower Mr. Kerry's L.D.L. to below 100, even to 70, but that he was reluctant to prescribe a statin drug during the campaign, in part because of the risk of side effects like muscle weakness and liver damage. He said he would re-evaluate the situation later this year