The implications of using xenon instead of water include many exciting possibilities, researchers said. Because xenon is a non-reactive gas that dissolves in the bloodstream, it allows scientists to simultaneously measure ventilation, the exchange of air from the atmosphere and the lungs, and perfusion, the exchange of gases between the lungs and the bloodstream.
A xenon MRI could help physicians locate a pulmonary embolism or diagnose chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases such as emphysema and bronchitis.
University physics Prof. Timothy Chupp and assistant research scientist Scott Swanson co-directed the study.
The project to create four-legged chickens, which identified the function of the Pitx 1 gene, could help biologists better understand the processes involved in human genetic diseases.
The transformed chicken limbs had claws, leg muscles and no feathers. Harvard biologists Macolm Logan and Clifford Tabin characterized the Pitx 1 gene as directing wing development. Other genes important for limb development are the Tbx4 gene and the Tbx5 gene.
A mutation of the Tbx5 gene is linked to Holt-Oram syndrome, the rare human genetic disorder in which affected individuals have malformed thumbs and upper limbs.
While the landscape of medical care is changing to include more nurse practitioners and physicians' assistants, the exact role of NPs and PAs remains under debate.
NPs, who receive years of formal clinical training beyond the basic requirements for nursing licensure, and PAs, who train with physicians alongside medical students, perform duties such as physical exams and minor surgical treatment such as mole removals.
NPs and PAs in the study said they spend more time with patients than physicians and focus more on holistic well-being.
The paper, "Til Death Do Us Part or I Get My Pension," is one of the first to analyze the effects of pension, rather than income, on a woman's marriage.
Assistant researcher Hiromi Ono said one plausible reason marriages of women with pensions end early is that these women are more likely to struggle with conflicts between career and marriage commitment.
Ono, who authored the paper with University economist Frank Stafford, plans to present the results of the study today at an annual meeting of the Population Association of America in New York City.
-Compiled by Daily Staff Reporter Asma Rafeeq
03-25-99
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