Osteoarthritis, a degenerative con-

dition whose hallmarks are joint pain

and limited movement resulting from

progressive loss of cartilage, is the

most common type of arthritis, espe-

cially among older people. It can occur

in any joint, but most often affects the

hands, knees, hips or spine. There are

currently no treatments, other than

surgical joint replacement, that signifi-

cantly change the course of this joint

disease, and clinical trials for new ther-

apies are long, difficult and expensive.

The OAI is a federal contract fund-

ed by the National Institute of

Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin

Diseases, National Institute on Aging,

Office of Research on Women’s Health,

National Institute of Dental and

Craniofacial Research, National Center

on Minority Health and Health

Disparities and National Center for

Complementary and Alternative

Medicine, all part of the Department

of Health and Human Services’ NIH.

Private funding partners include

Merck Research Laboratories, Novartis

Pharmaceuticals Corporation, and

Pfizer Inc. Private-sector funding for

the OAI is being managed by the

Foundation for the National Institutes

of Health.

Hospitals Encouraged to Partner With GrantRecipients

The U.S. Labor Department is

soliciting applications from state

and local workforce investment boards

(WIBs) and faith-based and commu-

nity organizations for $6.5 million in

grants that will be used to prepare

people for jobs in high-growth fields

such as health care, including nursing.

Though hospitals are not eligible to

apply for the grants, they are encour-

aged to participate as partners in the

grant projects. Hospitals and health

care providers can locate WIBs near

them through a listing at

http://www.nawb.org, or contact their

local faith-based and community

organizations to find out if they’re

applying and how they might

participate.

For more on the grants, see the

Federal Register notices at

www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fedreg/

a040406c.html under “Labor

Department.”

International SequencingConsortium LaunchesWebsite

The International Sequencing

Consortium (ISC) has launched

a free online resource where scientists,

health care professionals and the pub-

lic can get the latest information on

the status of sequencing projects for

animal, plant and other eukaryotic

genomes.

The new resource can be accessed

through ISC’s home page, www.

intlgenome.org. The database enables

users to quickly sort sequencing project

information by organism, by sequenc-

ing group or by funding agency.

Information about each sequencing

project includes timetables for comple-

tion, along with brief descriptions of

sequencing strategies being employed.

In many cases, the database also fea-

tures links to the individual sequenc-

ing projects’ websites and the sites of

their funding agencies, such as

NHGRI. Also available are links to

other publicly run databases where the

actual DNA sequence data are deposited.

LifeWorks CareerExploration Site Online

The National Institutes of Health,

Office of Science Education, is

bringing LifeWorks online. This inter-

active website features more than 100

careers in the health and medical sci-

ences. It’s designed as a resource for

middle school and high school stu-

dents, parents, educators and school

guidance/career counselors to explore

the diversity of careers in the field.

According to the Department of

Labor, these jobs are expected to be

among the fastest growing jobs in the

nation over the next 10 years. At Life-

Works visitors can:

• search careers to match personal

interests, skills and abilities

• browse careers by salary, education

required, interests and job title

•read about real people who have

achieved success in their careers

•learn about certification, licensing

and educational requirements

•explore job market trends and find

links to professional organizations

To access LifeWorks, link through

http://science.education.nih.gov.

Nursing KnowledgeInternational NowOperational

Nurses worldwide now have a

new resource for knowledge

to practice evidence-based nursing,

develop their careers, increase

leadership skills and earn continuing

education credits. Nursing Knowledge

International is a new nonprofit

organization for nurses all over the

world. The organization is an exten-

sion of the Honor Society of Nursing,

Sigma Theta Tau International.

Through its website, www.nursing

knowledge.org, the organization aims

to improve patient outcomes by

enhancing the knowledge base of its

nurse customers.

256 AWHONN Lifelines Volume 8 Issue 3