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Chemist pursues new chapter: Father of birth control pill devotes himself to writing (San Jose Mercury News):

To end his 42-year career at Stanford University, Carl Djerassi -- the noted chemist who helped develop the birth-control pill -- stood before 200 students Tuesday and pretended to be someone else.

Specifically, he inhabited the role of Felix Frankenthaler, a reproductive pioneer engaged in a testy interview about the ethics of allowing previously infertile people to procreate.

The play/lecture was an unconventional swan song but a tidy segue to the next chapter in Djerassi's life. The man with a Viennese accent and pronounced limp once thought he would be the ``Strom Thurmond of academia,'' but at age 78, Djerassi has decided to devote more time to his other profession, writing memoirs, novels and plays....

Djerassi -- who has written two memoirs and five novels in addition to the plays -- has been trying to marry literature and science. At Stanford, he has taught ethical discourse through science and fiction, and a writing course where students bring science-based manuscripts.

Djerassi said there's not much he'll miss at Stanford. Scientists focus on their next experiment, he explained, and his is writing.

With his books and novels spread before him, he admits it can be frustrating for a successful person to start a new career. His scientific colleagues think he's dabbling in fluff; writers, already frustrated about how science is dominating the culture, see him as an interloper.

``It's not a supportive thing on either side,'' he said.

But he plans to keep going. His plays have been well-received, especially in Europe. Besides, he believes there's a place for didactic art (``didactic'' and ``pedagogy'' pepper Djerassi's speeches), showing his continued commitment to teaching. He wants to ``teach and amuse at the same time,'' he said.

``If you can,'' he said, ``I think it's a hell of a lot better than to just amuse.''

Hypothermia Helps Avert Brain Damage if Heart Stops (Reuters):

Lowering the body temperature of a heart attack victim once the heart has been restarted can dramatically reduce the risk of subsequent death and brain damage, researchers from Europe and Australia reported in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine.

In separate studies, the scientists found that reducing the temperature to 91 degrees Fahrenheit for at least 12 hours increased the chances of survival in patients whose hearts had stopped for at least 5 minutes, and often far longer. Brain cells usually start to die after four or five minutes without oxygen. Normal body temperature is 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit.

The findings suggest the technique could save thousands of heart attack patients around the world from death or brain damage each year, researchers said.

Although further research is needed, "we recommend the use of mild hypothermia in survivors of cardiac arrests -- as early as possible and for at least 12 hours," said Drs. Peter Safar and Patrick Kochanek of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, in an editorial in the Journal....

In the larger test, led by Dr. Michael Holzer of the University Clinic for Emergency Medicine in Vienna, Austria, 275 patients at nine medical centers in five countries were either cooled for 24 hours or kept at normal temperature. In each case, at least five minutes -- but no more than 15 minutes -- had passed before resuscitation efforts were begun, and a normal heartbeat was restored within 60 minutes.

After six months, 41 percent in the hypothermia group had died compared to 55 percent of the patients whose bodies were kept at normal levels.

In addition, the likelihood of having a good recovery or only moderate disability was 55 percent among the people whose bodies were cooled, versus 39 percent for those who did not receive the hypothermia treatment....

Preliminary results from the group's follow-up study suggest infusing a patient with large volumes of ice cold saline solution may be even more effective at preventing brain damage than using ice packs.