Researchers look to nuclear future

Researchers look to nuclear future: http://www.leaderpost.com/technology/Researchers+look+nuclear+future/8846121/story.html "Carl Wesolowski can't talk in too much detail about his team's early unpublished findings, except to say they're positive. "We're very excited by initial results we can't really talk about," he said.
The results could lead to better, quicker medical treatments that involve nuclear science.
One of five teams who received two years of funding from the Fedoruk Centre early this year, they're unlocking the mysteries of the kidney.
"The new understanding of the kidney is not so much about the kidney, but about the rest of the body," the University of Saskatchewan scientist said.
"There's a lot of understating about how the kidney works - but how (it) affects the concentration of some test agent in the blood has as much to do with the rest of the body as it does with the kidney."
His team has developed a new model for establishing the relationship between the effects of a drug in the body and the kidney.
In doing so, he hopes to confirm previous studies that suggest the number of kidney tests needed for children could be cut to four from nine.
"Currently what is done with children who are sick enough that they have problems with their body fluids is you have to take a lot more blood samples after doing a standard injection in order to determine how their kidneys are working, because the current models are so clunky and difficult to use."
Already, the new method has been used for a few handful of patients and they hope to have more trials underway with colleagues in the United Kingdom, he said."