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Tobias Allander and Björn Andersson, of the Karolinska Institutet (KI), identified a previously unknown virus called human bocavirus that can cause respiratory illness in children.

The researchers discovered the virus in respiratory tract samples from children at Karolinska University Hospital in Stockholm utilizing a new method for virus discovery.

Currently, infections of the lower respiratory tract are a significant cause of hospitalization of children. In about 20% of cases, doctors are presently unable to determine the cause of the infection.

Dr. Allander, a scientist at KI’s Centre for Molecular Medicine and Department of Clinical Microbiology and an associate professor at KI’s Centre for Genomics and Bioinformatics along with his colleague Dr. Andersson, pioneered a method that allows for the systematic scanning of samples to detect unidentified viruses.

The Swedish team found bocavirus contributed to at least 3% of serious lower respiratory tract infections.

Dr. Allender commented: "We believe that the most important aspect of our discovery is that it will enable the discovery of many more viruses, and this may help us solve important medical questions. Identifying unknown viruses will probably help in developing diagnostics and treatment for diseases that are currently of unknown origin."

Many scientists believe that as yet unknown viruses may be involved in the development of diseases such as childhood diabetes and multiple sclerosis (MS).

The study can be found in the latest issue of PNAS (the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA).

A new study reports that one health benefit of coffee may be as an antioxidant. According to Joe A. Vinson, a chemistry professor at the University of Scranton, in Pennsylvania (U.S.), Americans actually get most of their antioxidants from coffee.

Vinson states that antioxidants can be good for you in a number of ways including affecting enzymes and genes, though more research is needed, he said. They are also thought to combat damage to cells and DNA.

Vinson’s study considered the antioxidant content of more than 100 different food items, including vegetables, fruits, nuts, spices, oils tea, coffee and coco. Then, using the Agriculture Department’s data on food consumption patterns, calculated the antioxidants Americans get from each food.

The results showed that adults consumed 1,299 milligrams of antioxidants daily from coffee, 294 milligrams from tea, 76 milligrams from bananas, 72 milligrams from dry beans, and 48 milligrams from corn.

Thus, most of the antioxidants taken in came from coffee since, according to the Agriculture Department; American adults drink 1.64 cups a day.

However, the study also concluded Americans are still not getting enough fruits and vegetables, which are, themselves, important sources of antioxidants, vitamins, fiber, and minerals. Good vegetable and fruits sources include dates, cranberries and red grapes.

Recently, Japanese research in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute linked daily coffee consumption of up to four cups to lower risk of liver cancer and research from the Harvard School of Public Health suggested coffee drinking lowered the risk of diabetes.

The Harvard study found men who drank more than six 8-ounce cups of caffeinated coffee per day lowered their risk of Type 2 diabetes by about 50%, and women reduced their risk by nearly 30%.

While these studies suggest a favorable side to America’s coffee consumption habits, excessive coffee drinking has its critics who point out that high caffeine intake makes many people jittery and unable to sleep. It may even raise cholesterol levels. As Vinson remarked as a disclaimer to the findings "We always talk about moderation in anything."

Despite the current energy crisis, the Bush administration is urging automobile manufactures not to produce lighter, smaller and more energy efficient cars because of the potential danger of more accident-related deaths.
Instead, last week, the administration suggested new fuel economy regulations or CAFE standards for sport utility vehicles, pickup trucks and vans, which they believe will save 10 billion gallons of gas in the next twenty years.

Environmentalists balked at the proposals since, "at best, they’re proposing a system that will save a month’s worth of gas," said David Friedman, an analyst at the Union of Concerned Scientists.

John D. Graham, who formerly did academic research financed by the auto industry which found lighter cars lead to fatalities, is a top official at the Office of Management and Budget and was involved in developing the new plan. He claimed that the CAFE standards would save fuel, reduce the unintended safety risks to motorists, and provide an equitable regulatory framework for all vehicle manufacturers.

In 2001, the National Academy of Sciences essentially supported his safety research claiming 1,300 to 2,600 fatalities in 1993 were the result of the fuel-economy regulations.

According to the new plan, auto manufactures would have to meet a fuel economy average of 27.5 miles per gallon (mpg) for cars and 21.2 mpg for light trucks on new models.

CAFE would also subdivide the light-truck group into six subcategories according to a vehicle’s dimensions and requirements for bigger vehicles would be lower.

Currently, the largest SUVs and pickup trucks, such as the Hummer H2, would not be included in the regulations. However, the administration says legislation may still be changed to include large SUVs when the final plan is announced in April 2006.

The plan promotes better technology including hybrid electric systems, more efficient transmissions, and less horsepower as opposed to reducing weight.

While safety clearly should be a priority, the prevalence of SUVs, which guzzle gas, contribute to pollution, and add unnecessarily to congestion in cities, is also a concern.

Consumers have raised this issue, saying that vehicles which are too fat, not too light are also dangerous by citing SUV crash studies.

Critics of the CAFE plan say the legislation may allow automakers to make their SUVs even larger, though soaring gas prices would hinder the marketability of such products and ultimately remove some of the allure enjoyed by SUVs.