Free Republic

President Shimon Peres on Sunday evening phoned and thanked bus driver Michael Yoger and passenger David Papo, whose actions saved lives in the explosion on the 240 bus in Bat Yam earlier in the day. Peres asked to hear the details of the event and thanked Yoger and Papo for their actions in discovering the device and clearing the passengers from the bus, saving lives in the process. The explosion took place shortly after passengers noticed a suspicious object and reported it to the driver, who quickly removed all passengers from the bus. .....

BETHESDA, Md., Sept 25 (Reuters) - A U.S. advisory panel on Thursday recommended approval of Cephalon Inc.'s (CEPH) drug Provigil to combat excessive sleepiness due to shift work or severe snoring that causes individuals to wake frequently. But the Food and Drug Administration advisers split 4-4 on whether Cephalon should be allowed to market Provigil more broadly for excessive sleepiness from other sleep disorders. The FDA usually follows the advice of its advisory panels. Provigil already is approved for treating narcolepsy, a rare condition that causes uncontrollable sleeping during waking hours. Trading in shares of West Chester, Pennsylvania-based Cephalon were...

The slowdown of the brain with old age is due to the lack of a brain chemical which helps neurons to be selective about what they respond to, reveals research involving the world's oldest monkeys. Higher brain functions, such as visual recognition or understanding language, require the processing of information in the brain but decline as people get older. This decline appears to be due to a reduction in a neurotransmitter called GABA, say researchers, which means neurons with specific tasks become more easily fired by some other stimulus. Macaque monkeys, with an age equivalent to 90-years in humans, were...