Last fall’s announcement that virulent antibiotic-resistant staph infections had killed almost 19,000 patients in American hospitals and nursing homes in 2005 didn’t surprise George Allen. With colleagues David Bearden and Mark Christensen, the assistant professor in the OSU College of Pharmacy studies antibiotic effectiveness. He focuses on a class of broad-spectrum antibiotics known as fluoroquinolones, [...]
Tag » health
January 23, 2008
A Drink to Your (Bone?) Health
Moderate alcohol consumption in adults can have health benefits. It can reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, gallstones and maybe diabetes. Russell Turner, Gianni Maddalozzo and Urszula Iwaniec of OSU’s Bone Research Laboratory could add osteoporosis to that list. Studies with animals have found that the equivalent of five to 10 drinks per week [...]
July 23, 2007
Caring for the Caregivers
The typical middle-aged woman takes care of everybody in her household except one — herself. The consequences of this benevolent self-neglect can be dire: chronic disease, even death. Even the healthiest lifestyle can’t always prevent disease. Still, millions of wives, mothers and grandmothers could better fend off, or at least slow down, the ravages of [...]
July 22, 2007
Energy Source
Nutrition and exercise feed healthy habits
The mixed messages blare at every grocery checkout: supermodels smiling seductively from magazines that push chocolate-cake recipes and weight-loss tips on the same page. No wonder millions of American females struggle with food and body image, laments OSU Professor Melinda Manore. The health of women across the age and activity spectrums — from teenage Olympic [...]
April 1, 2007
Mental Health Lifeline
The most important visitors to Stacy Ramirez’s office walk around her desk and sit in a chair next to her. As they talk, Ramirez catches subtle cues about her visitors’ emotions, whether or not they are taking their pills or maybe hearing voices again. “I can tell by their eyes if there’s something going on [...]
April 1, 2007
Minding the Dairy
Scientists reveal a killer’s M.O.
Little matters more to dairy farmers than the purity of their product and the health of their animals. So when Warren “Buzz” Gibson, co-owner and herd manager at the Lochmead Dairy in Junction City, Oregon, heard six years ago that an incurable cattle disease called Johne’s (pronounced “yo-knees”) could threaten his reputation for quality, he [...]
April 1, 2007
Stories That Heal
Once upon a time in an Oregon river valley, there lived a woman named Dale-Elizabeth Pehrsson. At the big university where she was a teacher and researcher, her students called her Dr. Dale. When visitors walked into Dr. Dale’s office at the College of Education, they noticed something very important about her: She loved working [...]
April 1, 2007
Bibliotherapy in Kenya
It was at the bedside of a dying relative that the idea for Daphne Kagume’s doctoral dissertation took hold. As her beloved uncle succumbed to AIDS in a Kenya hospital, the OSU graduate student witnessed the heartbreaking isolation that so often afflicts AIDS patients in her native country. She resolved to help. With guidance from [...]
February 1, 2007
Communication Breakdown
Cell signaling key to healthy arteries
Hardening of the arteries and high blood pressure may result from a breakdown in cell communications, researchers in OSU’s Linus Pauling Institute have discovered. The finding could pave the way for new dietary measures and pharmaceuticals to reduce cardiovascular diseases. “It’s also a key to understanding the biological effects of inflammation, which increasingly seems to [...]
July 23, 2006
New Life from Black Water
Forget about clear, pristine waters. The real action for some scientists is in dark swamps where black stained water has the acidity of vinegar.
July 23, 2006
To Conquer Vitamin E
Trekking through the last frontier of vitamin exploration
Taking a vitamin E supplement? There’s more to it than just popping a pill. Maret Traber of OSU’s Linus Pauling Institute is revealing E’s secrets, including its cozy partnerships with vitamin C and fat.
April 23, 2006
LPI Researchers Take Aim at Lou Gehrig’s Disease
How did Oregon State University’s Linus Pauling Institute become home to groundbreaking research on nerve cell degeneration?
April 23, 2006
Sexual Health: Asking the Tough Questions
Using the research tools of social science — questionnaires, focus groups, interviews and data analysis — Marie Harvey, chair of OSU’s Department of Public Health, delves into the most private of human behaviors and the attitudes that shape them.
April 23, 2006
Namesake for a Generation of Holsteins
In Benton County, a disproportionate number of newborn calves are christened “Chuck.” That’s because when Dr. Charles Estill is called out to attend a birth — usually in the dark hours before dawn — the mother is in distress, and the outcome is precarious. So a successful birth warrants proper recognition of the doctor’s skills. [...]
