Is ‘a pair’ big enough to be called ‘a group’? The tricky subject of dyads has recently been causing considerable professorial debate in the journal ‘Small Group Research’. (Note: the word ‘dyad ‘ is derived from the Greek ‘dýo’, meaning ‘two’.)

Almirall, S.A. (ALM.MC) and Forest Laboratories, Inc. announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Tudorza(TM) Pressair(TM) (aclidinium bromide inhalation powder) for the long-term maintenance treatment of bronchospasm associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), including chronic bronchitis and emphysema. 

COPD is a common, progressive, and debilitating lung disease characterized by persistent airflow limitation that makes it hard to breathe; it is currently the third leading cause of mortality in the US. Characteristic symptoms include breathlessness, excessive production of sputum, and a chronic cough.

In the 1990s, life was simpler for environmentalists.  Crippling the logging industry was all that was needed to protect trees and birds.  

But, as in abortion or gun control, you have to sue everyone or you can sue no one and even responsible logging and clearing brush was stopped by environmental lawsuits and as a result, wildfires have become far more frequent and far more devastating.  Now add a new wrinkle - no logging is leading to more global warming.

Emotional Brain has announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has awarded a new patent (US Patent No. 8,227,453, issued today) for its combination of a PDE5-inhibitor and testosterone for the treatment of Female Sexual Dysfunction (FSD).  

There is no FDA-approved medicine available yet for this particular indication area, so American physicians annually prescribe off-label drugs for the treatment of FSD.  Dr Adriaan Tuiten, PhD, CEO of Emotional Brain, explains, 'It ensures protection of our medical applications and medical procedures aimed at the treatment of Female Sexual Dysfunction. The issuance of new patents in a country such as the United States is tremendously important and has a huge impact.' 

How will the Universe end?  And when? It's been speculation in religion and philosophy since man realized he was special.  Can physics offer anything new?

Let's go to the Dark Energy hypotheses and see.  1998 really messed us up, theoretically. Until then, we knew the Universe had to slow down - well, theoretically.  But then the Hubble showed us truly distant supernovae and we got the uncomfortable reality that the Universe was actually expanding more slowly in the past than it is now.  That meant gravity has not been slowing Universal expansion, it has been accelerating. 

Slowly but surely, because it is a good idea, the Quantum Randi Challenge (QRC) generates interest behind the curtains. Some think that because of this, it is all over, but they are mistaken. Several researchers wanted to properly quote the QRC despite of it finding still no support by ‘professional’ journals on the grounds that it is “extremely important but just not quite right for our fine publication”.

NASA's Inflatable Reentry Vehicle Experiment (IRVE-3), a large inflatable heat shield developed, was launched by sounding rocket at 7:01 a.m. Monday from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Va.  It successfully survived a trip through Earth's atmosphere while traveling at hypersonic speeds of 7,600 mph.

When it comes to new legislation, sometimes what you see is not all you get. Just ask Nancy Pelosi, the House Minority Leader who two years ago uttered the now infamous words, “We have to pass the [Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act] so that you can find out what is in it….” Whether or not you support the president's healthcare reform initiatives, the implementation of any vast, complex legislation can result in unintended consequences.

No one is asking the Department of Energy to play venture capitalist with taxpayer money again, but basic research in dye-sensitized solar cells may bring the cost of solar down enough to allow for mainstream acceptance - primarily because dye-sensitized solar cells (also known as DSCs) are less fragile than panels that use crystalline silicon, also a benefit of thin-film panels, and don't require a clean room.

Researchers have moved a step closer to find a treatment for the fatal neurodegenerative disorder Machado-Joseph disease (MJD) after a Portuguese team from the Centre for Neurosciences at the University of Coimbra was able to halt the brain degeneration in mice, by blocking a molecule called calpain. Calpain are known to cut ataxin-3 (the mutant protein behind MJD) into fragments, and the study proves that these fragments are crucial to trigger the neurodegeneration.