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This is SCIENCE IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English. I'm BobDoughty.
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And I'm Sarah Long. Coming up ... an international treaty ontobacco is now in effect, but some say it is not strong enough.
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Later, we have a report on some research projects to learn moreabout glaucoma, a leading cause of preventable blindness.
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A treaty that just went intoeffect aims to reduce a major cause of death and disease. The treatyis called the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. It is thefirst public health treaty negotiated by the World HealthOrganization.
More than one hundred sixty countries have signed it. Countriesthat sign the treaty then must approve it within their government.So far, fewer than sixty countries have done that.
But only forty countries needed to ratify the treaty to bring itinto force. The treaty went into effect on February twenty-seventh.
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Nations that ratify the treaty must raise prices and taxes oncigarettes and other tobacco products. They must fight illegal tradein tobacco products. And they must place controls on second-handsmoke, smoke from other people's tobacco.
The treaty also bans advertising and other marketing campaignsfor tobacco. But this is true only if such a ban would not violate anational constitution.
The treaty calls for tobacco companies to make public all thesubstances they use to make cigarettes. And health warnings couldnot include information that might lead people to believe that somecigarettes are less harmful than others. Experts say there is nosuch thing as a safe cigarette.
Also, governments that approve the treaty must support programsto help people stop smoking. And there must be educations programsto urge people not to start.
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Countries that have yet to ratify the treaty include the UnitedStates. It says some parts violate the Constitution and others areunacceptable. China is another country that has not approved thetreaty.
Health officials say developing countries are the biggest growtharea for tobacco, and tobacco-related diseases.
The World Health Organization estimates that each year almostfive million people worldwide die from the effects of smoking. Atcurrent rates of growth, experts say the number could reach tenmillion a year by two thousand twenty.
Smoking causes or increases the risk of many diseases. Theseinclude cancer and heart disease. Pregnant women who smoke maydamage their unborn child. Also, a recent study offered moreevidence that breathing tobacco smoke as a child increases the riskof lung cancer later in life.
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Public health experts praise the Framework Convention on TobaccoControl. But there is criticism that the treaty does not go farenough. Doctor Derek Yach (pronounced yahk) supervised the writingof the treaty while chief of anti-tobacco efforts at the W.H.O. Heis now a professor at Yale University in the United States.
Doctor Yach says the treaty is "toothless" without additionalagreements known as protocols to strengthen it. He told TheAssociated Press that any work on protocols is over a year away fromeven being discussed.
He said developing nations need financial help to carry out thetreaty. He also called for clear guidance on what countries need todo. There are no targets for reducing demand for cigarettes. So,Doctor Yach says, there is no way to measure success.
And there are no punishments for countries that fail to act. Butthey will have their records examined at United Nations conferences.The first one is set for next February.
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The World Health Organization, a U.N. agency, estimates that morethan one thousand million people smoke. It says more than eightypercent of smokers live in developing countries. And it says tobaccokills one-half of those who keep using it.
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You are listening to SCIENCE IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.This is Sarah Long with Bob Doughty in Washington.
Glaucoma is the name for a group of eye diseases. Withouttreatment, it can cause people to go blind.
In the United States alone, it is estimated that three millionpeople have glaucoma. But the Glaucoma Research Foundation says halfof them do not know even know it. Often there are no warning signs.
Eye doctors can test for glaucoma. But they have more to learnabout the causes. Medicines and operations can control but not cureglaucoma.
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Glaucoma prevents the clear fluid in the eye from flowingnormally. This generally increases pressure within the eye. Theraised pressure can damage the optic nerve, which carries imagesfrom the eye to the brain.
The chance of developing glaucoma increases if a person hasdiabetes. The risk of glaucoma also increases with age and familyhistory of the disease. There is greater risk as well in people whoare nearsighted. That is, they must be close to an object to see itclearly.
The Glaucoma Research Foundation in San Francisco, California,recently announced almost one million dollars in research grants.The group launched the second three years of a campaign it calls"Catalyst for a Cure."
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The foundation awarded money to researchers in laboratories atfour universities in the United States. These are Johns HopkinsUniversity, the University of Utah, the University of Washington andVanderbilt University. Each laboratory will receive more than onehundred ninety thousand dollars.
The foundation is also providing six pilot project grants of upto thirty-five thousand dollars. The Glaucoma Research Foundationsays these awards are to help projects get started. After that, thescientists may be able to receive financial aid from companies orthe government.
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David Friedman received one of the pilot project grants. He worksat the Wilmer Eye Institute of Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore,Maryland. He plans to collect medical records of African Americanswith two or more brothers or sisters with glaucoma. Experts sayblack Americans have a greater risk of glaucoma than white people.
Doctor Friedman will help researchers who want to study the genesresponsible for glaucoma in these families. He will confirm that allthe people have this disease. In the words of the foundation: "Thegreatest limitation to genetics research for glaucoma is the lack ofwell-described patient populations."
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Markus Kuehn of the University of Iowa in Iowa City also receiveda pilot project grant. He recently identified an unusual family ofcats. All of the kittens born into this animal family developglaucoma early in life. Markus Kuehn is trying to identify the generesponsible for glaucoma in these cats. The goal then would be tolearn if this same gene is also responsible for glaucoma inchildren.
Keith Martin of the Center for Brain Repair at CambridgeUniversity in England is studying stem cells. He is investigatingwhether these cells can protect against damage caused by glaucoma.The goal is to help patients with severe glaucoma.
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Sayoko Moroi works at the W.K. Kellogg Eye Center at theUniversity of Michigan in Ann Arbor. She is studying how patientsreact to glaucoma medicines. Doctor Moroi uses a process calledfluorophotometry [flur-oh-foh-TOM-eh-tree]. This process measuresthe change in fluid production of the eye in reaction to glaucomadrugs.
Hemant Pawar also works at the Kellogg Eye Center. He is tryingto find the gene that causes a kind of glaucoma that producesgrowths in the iris part of the eye. His work could lead to earlyinterventions.
The final grant winner is Robert Nickells at the University ofWisconsin in Madison. Doctor Nickells is working to create a genetictest to identify people with an increased risk of glaucoma. Withsuch a test, eye doctors might be able to take steps to prevent thedisease.
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SCIENCE IN THE NEWS was written by Jill Moss, Jerilyn Watson andEd Stautberg. Cynthia Kirk was our producer. I'm Sarah Long.
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And I'm Bob Doughty. If you have a question about science that wemight be able to answer on the air, send it to special@voanews.com.Please join us again next week for more news about science inSpecial English on the Voice of America.