With this week's approval of a stronger version of adapalene, the most widely prescribed topical retinoid, people troubled by acne have a new treatment option. The prescription gel, which will be marketed by Galderma Laboratories as Differingel, 0.3 percent, beginning in July, is three times as strong as the existing version. According to dermatologists, the new formulation works slightly faster and is more effective, without causing harsh side effects, a problem that plagues many treatments for severe acne.
Students now appear likely to get a back-to-school present: loan reform. The Senate Education Committee approved relief measures this week similar to those recently passed by its House counterpart. Both full houses are expected to approve the bills later this summer, with a final version going to President Bush in September, just in time for the new school year. The proposed changes include halving interest rates on federal loans (from 6.8 percent to 3.4 percent), increasing the size of Pell grants for low-income students, and limiting monthly loan payments for students in certain public-service fields, such as teaching. The bills would pay for the measures, valued at around $18 billion over five years, by reducing subsidies to lenders.
Not satisfied with ordinary punishment, Louisiana State University is calling for its Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity chapter to sing "Kumbaya" during an "introspection period"—designed as reprimand for housing a live goat last fall, reports the Daily Reveille. Members claimed it was a chapter mascot.
AP - Roadside bombs killed seven American troops in Iraq on Saturday, including four in a single strike outside Baghdad, the military said, as U.S. and Iraqi troops captured two senior al-Qaida militants in northern Iraq.
AP - More than 800 of them have lost an arm, a leg, fingers or toes. More than 100 are blind. Dozens need tubes and machines to keep them alive. Hundreds are disfigured by burns, and thousands have brain injuries and mangled minds.