Health Research:Improving gene therapy ♦ Depressive ruminations and the idling brain ♦ Pharmacists help patients with hypertension

Researchers resurrect ancient viruses in hopes of improving gene therapy Researchers have reconstructed an ancient virus that is highly effective at delivering gene therapies to the liver, muscle, and retina. This discovery could potentially be used to design gene therapies that are not only safer and more potent than therapies currently available, but may also help a greater number of patients.

Trying to quit smoking? First strengthen self-control The desire to quit smoking -- often considered a requirement for enrolling in treatment programs -- is not always necessary to reduce cigarette cravings, argues a review of addiction research. Early evidence suggests that exercises aimed at increasing self-control, such as mindfulness meditation, can decrease the unconscious influences that motivate a person to smoke.

Pharmacists help patients with hypertension Patients with hypertension benefit from interacting with a medical team that includes a pharmacist. Two studies showed pharmacist-included care teams delivered more hands-on and tailored medication regimens to patients, which yielded more effective blood-pressure control results than for those patients who did not have a pharmacist on hand.

Depressive ruminations and the idling brain Depressed people often find themselves preoccupied with guilty, shameful, or self-defeating thoughts for large parts of their day. These thoughts not only distract from other activities but also fail to resolve the underlying life issues. Further, the ideas that receive focused attention in these depressive ruminations are frequently quite distorted and lead to distress.

Treating ships' ballast water: Filtration preferable to disinfection Untreated ballast water discharge from ships can spread living organisms and even pathogens across the world thereby introducing non-native or invasive species into the local environment. Scientists therefore recommend using physical treatment processes such as filtration rather than electrochemical disinfection, which creates countless potentially toxic compounds.