Relative Food Prices and Obesity in U.S. Metropolitan Areas: 1976-2001

This study investigates the impact of food price on obesity, by exploring the co-occurrence of obesity growth with relative food price reduction between 1976 and 2001. Analyses control for female labor participation and metropolitan outlet densities that might affect body weight. Both the first-difference and fixed effects approaches provide consistent evidence suggesting that relative food prices have substantial impacts on obesity and such impacts were more pronounced among the low-educated. These findings imply that relative food price reductions during the time period could plausibly explain about 18% of the increase in obesity among the U.S. adults in metropolitan areas.     

Experiences in Teaching Scientific Writing in the U.S.A.

The origin and intended meaning of the phrase ‘survival of the fittest’ are discussed. The development of the concept of ‘fitness’ in a neo-Darwinian sense is traced, and the use of the term in other contexts is outlined. The treatment of ‘fitness’ in various popular biology texts is considered, and some suggestions about the use of the term in schools are made.

The relationship of interpretations of ‘fitness’ to a broader understanding of evolutionary mechanisms is stressed throughout.     

美国研究人员用大肠杆菌生产生物燃料

植物油和动物油是制造很多生物燃料、表面活性剂、溶剂和润滑剂的原材料.对这些油料的不断增长的需求以及它们有限的供应正在导致粮食竞争、价格上涨和与它们的生产相关的环境问题.通过发酵从丰富的、高性价比的可再生资源来直接生产这些产品是一种具有可持续性的替代办法.传统生物能源技术多利用玉米或甘蔗来生产乙醇,然后制成燃料,但这可能导致生物能源作物与粮食作物争地.因此,近年来科研人员不断探索新技术,以期直接利用各种植物枝干的所含物质制造生物能源.     

Financing of U.S. Biomedical Research and New Drug Approvals across Therapeutic Areas

Background

We estimated U.S. biomedical research funding across therapeutic areas, determined the association with disease burden, and evaluated new drug approvals that resulted from this investment.

Methodology/Principal Findings

We calculated funding from 1995 to 2005 and totaled Food and Drug Administration approvals in eight therapeutic areas (cardiovascular, endocrine, gastrointestinal, genitourinary, HIV/AIDS, infectious disease excluding HIV, oncology, and respiratory) primarily using public data. We then calculated correlations between funding, published estimates of disease burden, and drug approvals.Financial support for biomedical research from 1995 to 2005 increased across all therapeutic areas between 43% and 369%. Industry was the principal funder of all areas except HIV/AIDS, infectious disease, and oncology, which were chiefly sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Total (ρ = 0.70; P = .03) and industry funding (ρ = 0.69; P = .04) were correlated with projected disease burden in high income countries while NIH support (ρ = 0.80; P = .01) was correlated with projected disease burden globally. From 1995 to 2005 the number of new approvals was flat or declined across therapeutic areas, and over an 8-year lag period, neither total nor industry funding was correlated with future approvals.

Conclusions/Significance

Across therapeutic areas, biomedical research funding increased substantially, appears aligned with disease burden in high income countries, but is not linked to new drug approvals. The translational gap between funding and new therapies is affecting all of medicine, and remedies must include changes beyond additional financial investment.     

Trends in Intake and Outcome Data for Animal Shelters in a Large U.S. Metropolitan Area, 1989 to 2010

Trends in nonhuman animal shelter intake and outcomes for dogs and cats in Metro Denver, CO, between 1989 and 2010 were assessed by linear regression analyses of data from 4 of the largest facilities covering 3 counties. The data were analyzed for trends on 3 scales: actual numbers per year, number per 1,000 residents per year, and as a percentage of total intake. Approximately 21,000 dogs and 16,000 cats were taken into the shelters in 2010, representing a 24% decrease for each since 1989. For dogs on a per-1,000-residents basis, intake decreased by 44%, euthanasia by 77%, and adoption by 13%; the live release rate (LRR) increased by 39%. For cats on the same scale, there was a 53% decrease in intake until 1998 followed by an 11% increase through 2010, and an 82% decrease in euthanasia until 2000 followed by a 24% increase through 2010. Adoption of cats per 1,000 residents remained unchanged, but the overall LRR for cats doubled during the study period. Substantially increasing trends in the transfer of dogs and cats from shelters to rescue organizations reflect efforts to optimize adoptions.