Iron: an underrated factor in aging.

Iron is an essential element for virtually all living organisms, but its reactivity also makes it potentially harmful. Iron accumulates with aging, and is associated with many age-related diseases; it also shortens the lifespans of several model organisms. Blocking iron absorption through drugs or natural products extends lifespan.

Peer review versus editorial review and their role in innovative science.

Peer review is a widely accepted instrument for raising the quality of science. Peer review limits the enormous unstructured influx of information and the sheer amount of dubious data, which in its absence would plunge science into chaos. In particular, peer review offers the benefit of eliminating papers that suffer from poor craftsmanship or methodological shortcomings, especially in the experimental sciences.

Chronic fatigue syndrome: understanding a complex illness.

Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a debilitating illness that affects many people. It has been marred by controversy, from initial scepticism in the medical community about the existence of the condition itself to continuing disagreements--mainly between some patient advocacy groups on one side, and researchers and physicians on the other--about the name for the illness, its aetiology, its pathophysiology and the effectiveness of the few currently available treatments. The role of the CNS in the disease is central in many of these discussions.

A review of the science regarding dental unit waterlines.

Background: The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, or NIDCR; the American Dental Association, or ADA; and the Organization for Safety & Asepsis Procedures, or OSAP, sponsored a workshop on the topic of dental unit waterlines, or DUWLs, on Sept. 29, 2000, at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md. These organizations invited a group of experts from the ADA, NIDCR, OSAP, the U.

Nutrition and oral infectious diseases: connections and future research.

A workshop on nutrition and oral infectious diseases was held November 5-7, 2000 at the Forsyth Institute, Boston, Massachusetts. The goal of the symposium was to review the current state-of-the-science with regard to nutrition and oral infectious diseases (particularly periodontitis) and then connect the disciplines of nutrition, microbiology, immunology, and clinical periodontology through a comprehensive list of recommendations for future research. The workshop featured five scientific sessions (oral infections and general health, research models, nutrition and infection, nutrition and oral infection, and nutrition, oral health, and life cycle).