Spotlight

FY12 Spending Debate Comes to a Close

Congress completed, and the President signed into law, the FY12 appropriations bill. The $915 billion spending bill wraps up the remaining nine appropriations measures. The bill provides funding for programs at the Department of Health and Human Services, including the National
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Rep. Rush Holt’s (D-NJ) Editorial in Most Recent Science

Science 16 September 2011:
Vol. 333 no. 6049 p. 1549
DOI: 10.1126/science.1211494
EDITORIAL:

Dueling Visions for Science

Rush Holt
Rush Holt is the U.S. Representative for New Jersey's 12th Congressional District and has a doctoral degree in physics.

A
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Alzheimer's Disease: Early Detection and Intervention - 3/14/07

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Dr. Gary Small
University of California, Los Angeles

An estimated five million Americans suffer from Alzheimer's disease, and millions more have mild cognitive impairments that put them at risk for future memory decline. Dr. Small's revolutionary work with PET scans revealing Alzheimer's lesions in the brain has led to a better understanding of the development of the disease. The scans reveal brain plaques and tangles - the physical evidence of Alzheimer's disease - in living humans. This technology can identify people most likely to benefit from prevention treatments even though they may not develop Alzheimer's disease for years. Brain scanning technology could also help bring new anti-Alzheimer's drugs to market sooner and less expensively, and enable quick adjustment of a drug dosage or a switch to another medication when indicated.

Dr. Small describs brain-boosting techniques, such as mental exercise, stress reduction, healthy diet, and physical exercise, for improving memory performance and lowering risk for future cognitive decline.