Health Sciences

Oracle Corp., the biggest maker of database software, created a business unit focused on applications for the health-sciences industry. The unit will work with drug, biotechnology, medical-device and healthcare companies, Oracle said. Separately, Oracle said it would buy the application business of Skywire Software, whose products help insurers create and manage policies. Terms weren't disclosed.

The economic downturn was tough on the urban core of many U.S. cities. But Pomona got a booster shot from an unlikely source: Western University of Health Sciences. The institution constructed a new clinic and a classroom building as part of a $110-million expansion. The school had previously rehabilitated existing retail space in Pomona's once-blighted center. Its Health Professions Center, for example, is a renovated former Buffum's department store. Nearby, a building that once held a JCPenney houses the University Research Center.

With the recent launch of its health sciences accelerated degree program, Mission College hopes working adults will find it easier to start on a new career. The health sciences curriculum will be added to the community college's Program for Accelerated College Education (PACE), a course of study that allows adults to earn an associate's degree at night in two nine-week semesters instead of the traditional two to three years.

When you go to a county fair, the last thing you want to be reminded of is what all that fried and sugar-laden food is doing to your body, not to mention the beer. But there's a cautionary tale waiting at this year's Los Angeles County Fair (Sept. 3 to Oct. 2), at the "Our Body: Live Healthy" show. Featured are actual human bodies that have been preserved via plastination and reveal muscles, bones and internal organs. An attraction at the fair last year, this time there is a special section dedicated to showing what a whole lot of bad living will do. Included will be lungs, kidneys, brains and livers of people who have squandered their life on too many cigarettes, too much booze and too many chili dogs.

The South Orange County Community College Board of Trustees has agreed to spend $12.8 million for design and construction of a Health Sciences building at Saddleback College. The nursing, paramedic and emergency medical-technician programs would be consolidated at the facility. Board President Donald P. Wagner said no tax increase or bond measure would be needed to fund the project. "I'm just ecstatic," said Saddleback President Dixie Bullock, the college's former dean of nursing.

Susan M. Coleman, a home economics professor at Orange Coast College since 1975, has been named acting dean for the college's consumer health sciences division, which offers two dozen different academic and vocational programs and enrolls nearly 5,000 students.

UC Berkeley announced a $50-million gift--the largest in its history--last week from an anonymous donor to help fund a $500-million program to spur medical innovations. Officials said the money would be used to fund the school's new Health Sciences Initiative, which will bring together as many as 400 researchers to work in such fields as cancer treatment, medical imaging and treatment of brain and spinal cord injuries.

Trustees of the UC Irvine College of Medicine on Tuesday declared their commitment to proceed without delay to develop a Center for Health Sciences despite the surprise resignation last month of Vice Chancellor and Dean Walter Henry. UCI Chancellor Laurel L.

The economic downturn was tough on the urban core of many U.S. cities. But Pomona got a booster shot from an unlikely source: Western University of Health Sciences. The institution constructed a new clinic and a classroom building as part of a $110-million expansion. The school had previously rehabilitated existing retail space in Pomona's once-blighted center. Its Health Professions Center, for example, is a renovated former Buffum's department store. Nearby, a building that once held a JCPenney houses the University Research Center.

The dream is still alive. After years of skirmishes known as the "hospital wars" in the early 1970s and 1980s, and admonishments by the UC Board of Regents to drop all plans for a campus hospital, UC Irvine is resurrecting a plan that would have everything--the latest in basic and medical research labs and clinics. But there would be no hospital beds, only outpatient clinics. UCI Chancellor Jack W. Peltason and medical college dean Dr.

Put simply, DEET makes many consumers nervous. Considering that billions of people have used the insect repellent safely, the case reports of related illness or fatalities are extremely rare. But neither the reassurances nor the studies on DEET's safety have been conclusive enough to allay fears. Donald Roberts, a retired professor of tropical public health at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Md., says the health risks of DEET, or N,N-Diethyl-meta-toluamide, have been overblown: "I believe DEET is basically a safe compound and can be used and should be used to give people protection from biting insects.

Question: I am disappointed with my shares of Avon Products Inc. What do you think is next for the company? Answer: Investors expect the stock of a brand-name company to be sturdy and reliable through all market conditions, come rain or shine. But the prospects of the world's largest direct marketer of cosmetics, fragrances and skin care have been cloudy, with some storm activity. Avon markets to women in more than 100 countries through about 6.5 million independent sales representatives.

Generally, these haven't been good times for science fairs -- budget cuts at schools and tough family finances have meant that fewer kids get the opportunity to hypothesize, test and conclude; to beg their mom to neatly stencil their work onto a large poster display (at the last minute, for maximum dramatic effect); and, if they're lucky, to win a ribbon or trophy for their (her?) work. But this year, budding scientists around the world will get a chance to submit science projects electronically to Google's online science fair , set to take place in May. The company called for entries on Tuesday, and will accept submissions until April 4.  Kids interested in the health sciences can submit projects in biology, food science or several other applicable categories.

Reporting from Killeen, Texas, and Silver Spring, Md. -- Over the last few weeks, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan drove off the vast Army base at Ft. Hood, Texas, at least a dozen times to enjoy seafood dinners with Duane Reasoner Jr., an 18-year-old he was mentoring in the ways of Islam. They would pray at the simple Masjidu-Ttaqwa prayer hall out along the highway, hit the all-you-can-eat buffet at the Golden Corral and then rush back for evening worship. Twice they drove to Hasan's one-bedroom apartment to pick up books or to talk.

Oracle Corp., the biggest maker of database software, created a business unit focused on applications for the health-sciences industry. The unit will work with drug, biotechnology, medical-device and healthcare companies, Oracle said. Separately, Oracle said it would buy the application business of Skywire Software, whose products help insurers create and manage policies. Terms weren't disclosed.

The merger between a Pomona medical school and Chapman University in Orange has been put on hold because the state attorney general is investigating allegations that top medical school officials received improper loans. Chapman President James L. Doti said through a spokeswoman Wednesday that he is optimistic about the merger with Western University of Health Sciences but is awaiting results of the inquiry by Atty. Gen. Bill Lockyer's office. Tom Dresslar, a spokesman for the attorney general, said the office started an audit of Western University's finances in the middle of last year.

Put simply, DEET makes many consumers nervous. Considering that billions of people have used the insect repellent safely, the case reports of related illness or fatalities are extremely rare. But neither the reassurances nor the studies on DEET's safety have been conclusive enough to allay fears. Donald Roberts, a retired professor of tropical public health at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Md., says the health risks of DEET, or N,N-Diethyl-meta-toluamide, have been overblown: "I believe DEET is basically a safe compound and can be used and should be used to give people protection from biting insects.

Kevin T. Ballinger, a professor of neurodiagnostic technology at Orange Coast College, has been appointed dean of consumer and health sciences. Ballinger, who has taught at OCC since 1982, said his new responsibility is "a wonderful and exciting challenge. This is probably the most diverse academic division at Orange Coast College."

The South Orange County Community College Board of Trustees has agreed to spend $12.8 million for design and construction of a Health Sciences building at Saddleback College. The nursing, paramedic and emergency medical-technician programs would be consolidated at the facility. Board President Donald P. Wagner said no tax increase or bond measure would be needed to fund the project. "I'm just ecstatic," said Saddleback President Dixie Bullock, the college's former dean of nursing.

Nutritional supplement company NBTY Inc. recently acquired Global Health Sciences Inc. in Orange, as well as certain affiliates, for $40 million in cash, less adjustments. NBTY, based in Bohemia, N.Y., was the successful bidder in a court-ordered auction for Global, which filed for bankruptcy protection in January. Before falling on hard times, Global Health was the largest supplier to Herbalife International Inc., the Los Angeles distributor of herbal and weight-loss supplements.