Novel method helps find new class of antibiotics
Infectious disease
The discovery of antibiotics was one of the major advances in medicine in the 20th century. But development of the bacteria-thwarting drugs has slowed considerably in recent decades, with only two new classes reaching the medicine cabinet in the past 40 years. At the same time, bacteria have acquired the ability to outwit old-line drugs. Now, scientists from
BOTTOM LINE: Scientists have identified a new class of antibiotics that could one day prove useful in treating pneumonia and other potentially life-threatening bacterial infections.
CAUTIONS: The drug has not been tried in humans or animals other than mice, and there's often a rocky road between lab discoveries and the pharmacy shelf.
WHAT'S NEXT: Further extensive laboratory and animal studies will be necessary before human tests can be considered. But Merck scientists said they hope the method used to discover platensimycin will be used by researchers to find other antibiotics.
WHERE TO FIND IT: Nature, May 18, 2006
STEPHEN SMITH
Hearing loss
Study supports routine screening of infants
While many pediatricians routinely test newborns for hearing loss, the US Preventive Services Task Force guidelines state that there isn't sufficient evidence to either support or oppose such testing. Now, proponents of hearing tests in infants will have more data to hang their hats on thanks to a new study by researchers from the United Kingdom. The researchers studied 120 children 5-12 years of age with moderate to severe hearing loss. Of these children, 61 were born at a time when all British infants were tested for hearing impairments. The researchers found that the children born when routine testing was performed tended to have their hearing impairment diagnosed at an earlier age and had better verbal comprehension -- as assessed by experts blinded to the children's history -- than those born when routine testing was not done. Speaking ability was similar in both groups of children, however. The researchers believe that these results provide support for routine hearing screening.
BOTTOM LINE: Routine testing of infants for hearing loss helps to identify hearing impairments at an earlier age and may reduce the risk for certain language difficulties in children with hearing trouble.
CAUTIONS: Many of the 61 children screened for hearing loss were born in the only two United Kingdom districts that provided routine hearing screening at the time of the study. These two districts might have also provided better speech and language services than other districts, which could explain why the screened children had lower rates of language trouble.
WHAT'S NEXT: More work is needed to determine whether screening for hearing loss is cost effective.
WHERE TO FIND IT: The New England Journal of Medicine, May 18, 2006
MICHAEL E. HOCHMAN
Language
Monkeys show ability to form new ''word" from other calls
There is a new member of the language hall of fame, and it is the putty-nosed monkey. One of the things that was thought to make humans special was the ability to string words together to create new meanings. The putty-nosed monkey, like many animals, has different calls for different situations. But a new study in Nigeria has found that this monkey can combine two words to create a new meaning. The researchers, from the University of St. Andrews in Great Britain, found that the male monkeys used two ''words" -- one call that warns of leopards nearby, another that warns of eagles. But then, the researchers found, the monkeys will sometimes combine the two calls to mean ''time to move." When this rang through the trees, the group of monkeys picked up and went elsewhere.
BOTTOM LINE: The putty-nosed monkey combines two types of calls to make a new meaning, a building block of language.
CAUTIONS: This is very primitive language: The monkeys have just two types of calls, which they can combine to create a third meaning.
WHAT'S NEXT: Scientists who study animal communication will look for other examples of the phenomenon.
WHERE TO FIND IT: Nature, May 18, 2006; to hear the monkey's three sounds, go to www.nature.com/nature/journal/v441/n7091/suppinfo/441303a.html
GARETH COOK
Listen to the putty-nosed monkey's calls online
