Channel 42
Science is the answer to everything.

Inflammatory bowel disease comprises a group of chronic, lifelong, immuno-inflammatory disorders with the pivotal role of oxygen free radicals in the genesis of mucosal damage. This research investigated the effect of rectal administration of d-alpha tocopherol in relieving symptoms in patients with mild and moderate ulcerative colitis. In the study, d-alpha tocopherol enema significantly reduced the clinical disease activity indices and eliminated further need to corticosteroid therapy in otherwise nonresponsive UC patients.

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Leaders of several African science academies are meeting next week at the Royal Society, the national science academy of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth, to discuss how the independent, expert advice of science academies can be applied to policy and development issues in Africa.

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The question whether a common European position on advance directives, or “living wills” is ethically required and practically feasible was discussed at a recent workshop organized by the European Science Foundation.

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In a paper published in the journal Science today, Gabriel A. Vecchi, Kyle L. Swanson and Brian J. Soden teamed up to study hurricane data observed over 50 years. The study explores the relationship between sea surface temperatures and seasonal hurricane activity, and show how differing interpretations of the record can imply vastly different futures for Atlantic hurricane activity due to global warming.

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A system of presumed consent for organ donation — where people have to opt out of donating their organs when they die — is the best way to tackle a growing waiting list for transplant, says Dr. John Troyer, an expert in organ donation and the illegal trade of body parts, who has recently joined the University of Bath’s Center for Death and Society.

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Humanitarian aid workers responding to devastating flooding in Honduras have received assistance from space, with satellite images of affected areas provided rapidly following activation of the International Charter on Space and Major Disasters.

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Half of all food allergies are not food allergies at all. This is what Cornelia S. Seitz et al., allergologists from Würzburg University, concluded in a study with 419 patients, as presented in the current edition of Deutsches Ärzteblatt International.

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University of Delaware scientists, in collaboration with researchers from the University of Arizona and South Dakota State University, have identified unusual differences in the natural mechanisms that turn off, or “silence,” genes in corn. The discovery, which was made by comparing the impact of inactivating a gene that occurs in both corn and in the much-studied laboratory plant Arabidopsis, provides new insight into how one of the world’s most important crops protects itself from mutation-causing mobile DNA elements and viruses.

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Scientists in Italy have found bacteria in the root of a tropical grass whose oils have been used in the cosmetic and perfumery industries.

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This week, researchers at Lehigh University and the University of Southern California released a study revealing the world’s most innovative nations, based on the time it takes for new products to “takeoff.” The report is among the largest of its kind and is based on 50 years worth of data. Sixteen product categories were analyzed, ranging from consumer electronics to household appliances.

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