Medicinal plants face extinction.
Many of the world's important medicinal plants are on the brink of extinction. A team representing botanic gardens across 120 countries identified 400 plants used for medicinal purposes that are at risk of extinction. Those most at risk include the yew tree (the bark of which forms the basis...

Partners in the testing process: novel medical products and market pressures raise the bar for contract service providers.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The growth of medical device contract service offerings not only hasn't slowed in recent years, but also has provided numerous opportunities for existing players and new market entrants alike. Among these services is medical device testing to ensure safety and sterility. As third-party providers continue...

Integrative--or integral--medicine?
To the Editor: The editorial entitled 'Why integrative medicine?' (S Afr Med J 2007; 11: 1009-1010) has missed the whole point of the integrative process and what is generally recognised as integrative medicine; it implies that the conventional medical process is integrative anyway, so why make a special issue...

Combination and collaboration: PharmaMedDevice assembles industry leaders in medical devices, pharmaceuticals and biologics to discuss the opportunities and challenges of combination products.
Combination products--or perhaps you know them better as convergent technology. Call them what you will, drug-device combinations are one of the fastest-growing sectors in medical technology. Products such as inhalation devices, transdermal delivery systems, steroid-eluting electrodes and a range of biologic devices hold tremendous promise not only for patient...

Extreme life extension.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] New members sometimes complain that the Life Extension Foundation appears to be seeking indefinitely extended human life spans utilizing any available technology. Their problem with this, they say, is that they personally are only interested in living out their natural life spans in good health....

Alcon's R&D department announces changes in leadership.
Global eye-care product manufacturer Alcon Inc. has named Sabri Markabi, MD its new senior vice president of Research and Development, succeeding Gerald D. Cagle, PhD, who will retire from the Swiss company at the end of June after 32 years of service. Markabi, who joins Alcon after...

Year in Science: your feedback.
To solve its problems, China needs efficient coal-powered plants that use plasma burners to reduce air pollution ["China's Syndrome," Year in Science story #1, January]. Use of nuclear, hydroelectric, geothermal, wind, and solar energy must increase. Millions of electric vehicles are needed. When all this happens, the skies will...

Lawmakers examine industry relationships with doctors.
Lawmakers questioned orthopedic companies during a late-February hearing on Capitol Hill. The US Senate Special Committee on Aging looked into financial payments to and consulting relationships with doctors, which some claim are aimed at creating loyalty for products such as artificial hips and knees. The implication for the medical...

Senate scrutinizes physician consultants.
Lawmakers questioned orthopedic companies during a late-February hearing on Capitol Hill. The US Senate Special Committee on Aging looked into financial payments to and consulting relationships with doctors, which some claim are aimed at creating loyalty for products such as artificial hips and knees. The title of the hearing...

Health Canada, Novartis warn of risks to patients taking Sebivo and Pegasys.
Novartis Pharmaceuticals Canada and Health Canada notified health care professionals March 7 of an increased risk of peripheral neuropathy observed in chronic hepatitis B patients treated with Sebivo (telbivudine) in combination with Pegasys (peginterferon alfa-2a), compared to the interferon or telbivudine alone, during a controlled pilot clinical trial. An...