Slicing certain pills in half could slice a hefty amount off of America’s prescription drug costs. While only some types of pills can be split safely, the practice could be used by millions of Americans – including many of those who take popular cholesterol-lowering drugs.

The Biscuit Fire of 2002 burned more severely in areas that had been salvage logged and replanted, compared to similar areas that were also burned in a 1987 fire but had been left to regenerate naturally, a new Oregon State University Study concludes.

The analysis, one of the first to ever quantify the effect of salvage logging and replanting on future fire severity, is being published this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a professional journal.

It found that fire severity was 16 to 61 percent higher in logged and planted areas, compared to those that had burned severely and were left alone in a fire 15 years earlier.

The potential for gun shows to serve as places where criminals obtain firearms can be curbed through increased regulation without adversely affecting attendance or business, according to a new study.

The study, based on field observations made by Garen J. Wintemute, director of UC Davis’ Violence Prevention Research Program, also found that undocumented gun sales between private parties and illegal “straw purchases” in which a person with a clean record buys a weapon for someone with a criminal record were much more common at gun shows in states with little regulation.

Experts present an analysis of long term data on the success of stem cell transplantation for osteopetrosis patients which suggests second transplants should be considered a key option.

The unique cooperation model used in the political field by the countries around the Baltic Sea needs to be extended to the public-private sector in order to increase the competitiveness and attractiveness of the Baltic Sea Region. This was one of the main conclusions reached by the leading representatives from business, government and research within the ICT and Life-Science at the seminar "Talents on Top of Europe" at the Nordic Embassies in Berlin today.

When the activity of individual genes it is longer required, there are two main mechanisms responsible for the “switching off”, mainly DNA methylation and the Polycomb protein complex.

Sometimes, these mechanisms lose their efficiency and some of the genes that should be “switched off” remain active. This, in turn, could lead to uncontrolled cellular proliferation, and tumorigenesis. These mechanisms, present both in lower organisms as well as in mammals, have always been thought to be separated and independent.

Dr. Peter K. Gregersen says he has finally closed the circle between key genes and more than a 1,000 patients with rheumatoid arthritis. The genes will help tell the story of how the immune system works to create specific antibodies that in turn increase a person’s risk for this crippling disease.

Gregersen's group conducted genome-wide scans to identify polymorphisms, or genetic variants, that are associated with the inflammatory condition and can be used to understand the triggers of the disease. This will provide key insights into the pathways underlying rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases. It may ultimately provide tests to predict who will respond to the available new treatments.

Logic or feeling. Left-brained or right-brained. The terms have become part of the lexicon for categorizing intellectual and artistic people. It turns out there may be more than just wishful thinking in labelling people. New research has furthered our understanding of the different roles of the left and right sides of our brains.

A study led by the University of Exeter has highlighted differences in the ability of people to perform basic tasks, depending on whether the left or right sides of their brains have been damaged by a stroke. The research identified the role of the right side of the brain in noticing and correcting errors.

A simple, cheap treatment using just oxygen could allow growers to store organic produce for longer and go a long way towards reducing the price of organic fruit and vegetables.

Currently UK shoppers have to pay twice as much for some organic products. Organic apples, for example, are around double the price of conventionally grown apples in Sainbury’s, Waitrose and Tesco.

Northwestern University researchers have discovered a drug that slows – and may even halt – the progression of Parkinson’s disease. The drug rejuvenates aging dopamine cells, whose death in the brain causes the symptoms of this devastating and widespread disease.

D. James Surmeier and his team of researchers have found that isradipine, a drug widely used for hypertension and stroke, restores stressed-out dopamine neurons to their vigorous younger selves.