Roban Johnson

Macon, GA — When Space Shuttle Atlantis returns to Earth on Friday, Oct. 18, a Mercer University researcher will be on hand to greet them. Peter N. Uchakin, Ph.D., is leading a study of the effects space flight stress has on the immune system. His job on Friday will be to collect blood samples from Russian cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin, Ph.D, a first-time shuttle flier when Space Shuttle Atlantis lifted-off from Kennedy Space Center on Oct. 7.

Macon — A scientist leading a team of researchers at Mercer University School of Medicine has discovered pluripotent stem cells in adult humans. These adult pluripotent stem cells have an extended life span and can form a variety of cells and tissues from a single cell, attributes similar to embryonic stem cells. His findings may reduce the need for embryonic stem cell use, while advancing medical science in the areas of tissue engineering and gene therapy.

To increase awareness of ankylosing spondylitis, Californian Rob Williams is traveling across the country by bike, stopping at medical schools along the way to deliver a message about the disease. He will be in Macon on Wednesday, Nov. 7, to speak to Mercer University medical students, Mercer/Medical Center of Central Georgia residents, local physicians and other health care workers beginning at 2 p.m. in the Ebersole Auditorium at the Medical Center of Central Georgia. Ankylosing spondylitis (