With a procedure similar to angioplasty, clinical investigators in Melbourne, Australia, threaded a catheter from the groin to a position near the kidneys and then emitted radio waves to silence nerves that figure in hypertension.  Among 106 patients, average decrease in maximum (systolic) pressure was 33 points.  Hypertension afflicts about one-sixth of humanity, and for the 10% of those who are unable to successfully use drugs, this procedure offers new hope.  Clinical trials began in Europe two years ago, and will start in the US in 2011.            MORE