Health and Medicine

The Research Institute on Addictions (RIA), formerly a component of the New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS), became part of the University at Buffalo today at ceremonies held at the institute, 1021 Main St.

New research on the effects of exercise on juvenile arthritis indicates it is OK -- advantageous, in fact -- for these kids to be kids. Children with juvenile arthritis who took part in an eight-week individualized program of resistance exercise at the University at Buffalo significantly improved their ability to function, some by as much as 200 percent, preliminary results of the study have shown.

A husband-and-wife team of psychiatrists at the University at Buffalo has received a $4.2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to search for a gene or genes that may be linked to bipolar disorder, commonly referred to as manic depression.

Mention the nation's most damaging natural disasters and most people probably think of earthquakes and floods. Wind probably isn't even on the list. But it should be, according to Michael Gaus, Ph.D., University at Buffalo professor of civil, structural and environmental engineering and president of the American Association of Wind Engineering, since the most vulnerable structures are low-rise buildings, such as residences.

As the millennium nears, the hype surrounding Y2K -- or the Year 2000 -- seems to have died down. But Lewis Mandell, dean of the University at Buffalo School of Management, says it may be that we're already in the eye of the Y2K storm, and the damage won't be apparent until the arrival of the new year has blown over.

ACE inhibitors can keep high blood pressure under control if life is running smoothly, but they don't prevent it from rising when things get tense -- like when the bottom drops out of the stock market. That's when a person needs a friend. And if a human friend isn't available, the four-legged variety will do nicely, a study of responses to stress in a group of hypertensive New York City stockbrokers conducted by University at Buffalo researchers, has shown.

One of his favorite pulp writers might describe George Kelley as "just one dirty guy doing a seedy job in a miserable world." But Kelley's life-long pursuit of cheap -- sometimes even cheesy -- paperbacks has the librarians at the University at Buffalo doing handsprings. That's because Kelley has made a gift to the UB Libraries of 25,000 pulp-fiction titles.

The work of a faculty member in the School of Architecture and Planning at the University at Buffalo to create a virtual teaching tool has attracted the attention of Apple Computer, Inc.

Richard Lee is a veteran "trekker." The founder and director of the University at Buffalo Medical Trek Program has made numerous trips overseas since the mid-1980s delivering medical treatment to indigenous populations all across the globe. But a 28-day mission last summer to India with 17 others to deliver medical treatment to the people of the Himalayas was the most harrowing by far.

The complicated process of revitalizing Western New York's many brownfields could be enhanced and accelerated significantly through the formation of a new, nonprofit organization designed to facilitate such projects, according to a report by a new University at Buffalo group, the Brownfield Action Project (BAP).