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Research published this week in the journal Autism, published by SAGE, estimate the annual costs of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to be more than ÷£27 billion a year. The costs of supporting children with ASDs were estimated to be ÷£2.7 billion per year, ÷£25 billion each year for adults. The findings were presented at the Autism & Employment Workshop at Goldsmiths, University of London.
Scientists at the Health Protection Agency have published their advice to UK bodies following new international guidance on ionising radiation*.
More than 40 scientists, bioethicists, lawyers and science journal editors are calling on their colleagues, policy makers and the public to begin developing guidelines for the research and reproductive use of stem cell-derived eggs and sperm, even though such use may be a decade or more away.
Few people changed their behaviour in the early stages of the swine flu outbreak, finds a study published on bmj.com. But the results do support efforts to inform the public about specific actions that can reduce the risks from swine flu and to communicate about the government"s plans and res.
Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ:ILMN) launched GoldenGate Indexing, a high-throughput genotyping solution that utilizes multi-sample indexing technology. Researchers may now screen up to 16 times as many samples per reaction as the standard GoldenGate Assay, increasing throughput from 288 samples per day to greater than 2000, while decreasing total reagent consumption. This high-quality genotyping system includes automation control and positive sample tracking through an Illumina Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS), creating a turnkey solution for low-complexity screening at an affordable cost per sample. The plexity ranges include 96-plex, 192-plex and 384-plex, which are ideal for screening in the livestock and agriculture market as well as for whole-genome association target validation and quality control applications.
Although the tiny roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans has only 302 neurons in its entire nervous system, studies of this simple animal have significantly advanced our understanding of human brain function because it shares many genes and neurochemical signaling molecules with humans. Now MIT researchers have found novel C. elegans neurochemical receptors, the discovery of which could lead to new therapeutic targets for psychiatric disorders if similar receptors are found in humans.
BRITAIN"S top diabetes specialists added their weight to calls for European drug regulatory bodies to launch an urgent investigation into the popular insulin treatment glargine (Lantus). The move by the Association of British Clinical Diabetologists (ABCD) follows this week"s publication of four studies, which raise possible concern about an increased risk of the development of cancer in people who use this long-acting insulin therapy.
Psychotherapy consists of a series of techniques for treating mental health, emotional and some psychiatric disorders. Psychotherapy helps the patient understand what helps them feel positive or anxious, as well as accepting their strong and weak points. If people can identify their feelings and ways of thinking they become better at coping with difficult situations.
A newly discovered mechanism controls whether muscle cells in blood vessels hasten the development of both atherosclerosis and Alzheimer"s disease, according to an article published online in the journal Nature.
Australians should be able to receive Medicare-type benefits directly from the private health fund of their choice, according to the authors of an article published in the Medical Journal of Australia.
Wake Forest University scientists have developed a new research tool in the pursuit of heart medications based on the compound nitroxyl by identifying unique chemical markers for its presence in biological systems.
The newest revolution in microbiology testing walks on four legs and says "baa."
Leading interventional pain physicians from key U.S. centers gathered at a special clinical symposium to share their experience with Vertos Medical"s mild (Minimally Invasive Lumbar Decompression), the least invasive surgical procedure for treating lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS), with no implants left behind.* Their early clinical experiences suggest that mild may be an appropriate treatment alternative earlier in the LSS progression, as mild patients have shown favorable results when comparing post-treatment improvement at three months to open surgical procedure patient results at one year1. Moreover, mild leaves future surgical options open.
British-born outdoor workers in Australia estimate they have a much lower risk of acquiring skin cancer than do their Australian-born counterparts.
Nearly a quarter of married and cohabiting women who took part in a survey said that they
To meet the growing needs of its high-volume emergency department (ED), Huntington Memorial Hospital has acquired Toshiba"s Aquilion® ONE dynamic volume CT system.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Alimta (pemetrexed), the first drug available for maintenance therapy of advanced or metastatic lung cancer.
A new study by researchers at Rhode Island Hospital have found a substantial link between increased levels of nitrates in our environment and food, with increased deaths from diseases, including Alzheimer"s, diabetes mellitus and Parkinson"s. The study was published in the Journal of Alzheimer"s Disease (Volume 17:3 July 2009).
IRIN examines how government officials and HIV/AIDS advocates in Zimbabwe are responding to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria"s decision to channel funds through the UNDP rather than the government-operated National AIDS Council (NAC). Though the Global Fund is one of the "few remaining international donors supporting Zimbabwe"s HIV/AIDS interventions," it decided to transfer control of its funds to the UNDP from the NAC after the "Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe admitted diverting over $7 million from the Global Fund"s Round 5 grant, earmarked for scaling up the national antiretroviral programme," IRIN writes.
The Iowa Independent looks at the complexity of changing Iowa"s HIV transmission law. The Independent writes that Iowa "isn"t a state with a high percentage of people living with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Prosecutions related to this particular law are often highly publicized as much for their uniqueness as for a public"s need to know. In addition, of the statute"s 24 convictions since its inception, three have been appealed and subsequently affirmed by the Iowa Supreme Court." The article features comments from a former state legislator and a member of the legislative study committee that could potentially reconsider this law (Waddington, 7/3).
George K. Michalopoulos, M.D., Ph.D., Maud L. Menten Professor and chair of pathology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, has received the 2009 American Society for Investigative Pathology (ASIP) Rous-Whipple Award.
Scientists at deCODE genetics (Nasdaq: DCGN) and academic colleagues from Europe and the United States today present in the journal Nature Genetics the discovery of common genetic risk factors for basal cell carcinoma (BCC) that affect people with fair and dark complexions alike. deCODE had previously discovered five common single-letter variants in the sequence of the human genome (SNPs) linked to risk of BCC, the most common cancer in people of European descent. However, most of these earlier findings were also correlated with fair skin, well known to accompany vulnerability to the damaging effects of ultraviolet radiation in sunlight.
Patients with atrial fibrillation, common in those with advanced chronic heart failure, have an increased risk of hospitalization due to heart failure, according to new research from researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). The findings, published in June in the European Heart Journal, also suggest that atrial fibrillation is not associated with an increased risk of death in heart failure patients, contradicting previous assumptions.
Anal cancer occurs in the anus, the end of the gastrointestinal tract. Anal cancer is very different from colorectal cancer, which is much more common. Anal cancer"s causes, risk factors, clinical progression, staging and treatment are all very different from colorectal cancer. Anal cancer is a lump which is created by the abnormal and uncontrolled growth of cells in the anus.
Senator Christopher Dodd, who is presiding over the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee during the absence of Committee Chair Edward Kennedy, today released the remaining portions of the health care reform bill that the Committee will consider when the July 4th recess ends. The following is the statement of Ron Pollack, Executive Director of Families USA, about the bill:
Aine Brady, T.D., Minister for Older People, officially launched the "Directory of Services for Older People in the Stoneybatter Area".
San Francisco, the host city for the American Sociological Association"s 104th annual meeting, will be the subject of several regional spotlight sessions in which leading sociologists present research and explore the politics, history, health and culture of the city and state of California.
"Absolutely inspirational" that"s was the expression used by one visitor to describe last years Northwest Disability Awareness Day (DAD).
In this week"s open access journal PLoS Medicine, Nayreen Daruwalla and
A new study of expectant mothers suggests that a group of common environmental contaminants called phthalates, which are present in many industrial and consumer products including everyday personal care items, may contribute to the country"s alarming rise in premature births.
Consuming an amino acid commonly found in vegetable protein may be associated with lower blood pressure, researchers report in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.
Parents who value strenuous team sports are more likely to influence their children to join a team or at least participate in some kind of exercise, and spend less time in front of the TV or computer, a new study says.
Structural muscle damage may be present in patients who have statin-associated muscle complaints, found a new study in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).
Patients who survive an initial diagnosis of breast cancer often succumb to the disease years later when the cancer shows up in a different part of the body. Now, scientists have identified key signals that support the long term survival of breast cancer cells after they have spread to the bone marrow. The research, published by Cell Press in the July issue of the journal Cancer Cell, may lead to development of treatment strategies that decrease the likelihood of breast cancer recurrence in the bone and other organs.
Approximately 350 million to 500 million cases of malaria are diagnosed each year mostly in sub-Saharan Africa. While medications to prevent and treat malaria do exist, the demand for new treatments is on the rise, in part, because malaria parasites have developed a resistance to existing medications. Now, researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have discovered one way to stop malaria parasite growth, and this new finding could guide the development of new malaria treatments.
Covidien (NYSE: COV), a leading global provider of healthcare products, announced that Health Canada has approved the Company"s Abbreviated New Drug Submission (ANDS) for its Kit for the Preparation of Technetium Tc 99m Sestamibi Injection. Covidien"s generic product is fully substitutable for Cardiolite®, a myocardial perfusion imaging agent used for detecting coronary artery disease.
A new prostate cancer "homing device" could improve detection and allow for the first targeted treatment of the disease.
With the first innings of the Ashes commencing this week, celebrity TV
In response to a study published online in the BMJ, comparing the performance of two cardiovascular risk assessment tools, British Heart Foundation (BHF) Medical Director, Professor Peter Weissberg, said:
Chemical dependency and recovery in patients and physicians are closely examined in a series of articles and editorials in the July 2009 issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings. The subject is especially timely. As the immense challenges, including potential tragedies, of prescription chemical addiction and abuse are being discussed, these articles offer crucial overview, direction and optimism.
On the eve of the G8 Summit in Italy, the International Treatment Preparedness Coalition (ITPC) calls on leaders of the world"s richest countries to announce significant additional funds to ensure that AIDS treatment and prevention programs for millions of men, women and children do not become a casualty of the economic down-turn.
Immunotec Inc. (TSX-V: IMM) announced that the Natural Health Products Directorate (NHPD) - a division of Health Canada responsible for evaluating the safety, efficacy and quality of natural health products (NHPs) - granted authorization for Immunotec to conduct a clinical trial of IMMUNOCAL(R) in elderly persons.
With the recall of the cold remedy Zicam nasal spray for possibly causing some people to lose their sense of smell and the prior failures of vitamin C and echinacea to prove effective in trials, viruses seem to be winning the war on colds.
The U.S. Department of Justice, on behalf of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, filed a complaint seeking injunctive relief against Peregrina Cheese, Inc., (Peregrina Cheese), Brooklyn, N.Y. and two of its officers: Javier Peregrina and Isabel Peregrina.
Atrium Medical is pleased to announce that is has received CE Mark for a new generation Cobalt Chromium Coronary Stent System called Cinatra™. Cinatra™ is indicated for the treatment of coronary artery occlusive disease.
Thallion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (TSX:TLN) announced that it has suspended patient enrollment in its Phase II trial evaluating TLN-232 as a treatment for metastatic melanoma, due to an ongoing dispute with the licensor. A binding arbitration proceeding has been initiated and Thallion will re-evaluate the status of the program based on the outcome of the adjudication.
Current combination malaria therapies recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO) provide adequate treatment for mild malaria, according to a Cochrane Systematic Review of the evidence. However, selected trials had high failure rates for some combinations and evidence for the effectiveness of anti-malarial therapies is lacking in some vulnerable groups.
When soldiers leave base for a 3-day mission, how much water should they bring? Military planners and others have long wrestled with that question, but new research from the Journal of Applied Physiology may now provide them an accurate answer.
Giving students personalised feedback on their drinking behaviour and how it compares to social norms might help to reduce alcohol misuse, according to a Cochrane Systematic Review.
A new online training course from the British Dental Association (BDA) that qualifies dental care professionals (DCPs) to advise patients on oral health has been launched. Combining theoretical knowledge and the development of communication skills, the course aims to see DCPs put an enhanced skill-set into practice with confidence.
Pending climate change legislation and regulations for the Renewable Fuel Standard are creating an uncertain environment for investment in advanced biofuels and biobased chemicals. The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) announced that executives of biofuel and industrial biotechnology companies as well as representatives of NGOs will offer their views on how the industry might fare under carbon accounting rules during the 2009 World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioprocessing, to be held July 19-22, 2009 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Peplin, Inc. (ASX:PLI) announced the completion of enrolment of its two Phase 3 clinical trials for the use of PEP005 (ingenol mebutate) Gel to treat actinic (solar) keratoses (AK), a common pre-cancerous skin lesion, on head treatment areas, which include the face and scalp.
Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX) announced the launch of the platinum chromium TAXUS(R) Element(TM) Paclitaxel-Eluting Coronary Stent System in select markets worldwide. The TAXUS Element Stent features a new platinum chromium alloy engineered specifically for coronary stent applications and represents the Company"s third-generation drug-eluting stent (DES) technology.
A national fellowship program focused on expanding the role of nurses to lead change in the U.S. health care system has named its 2009 cohort of Robert Wood Johnson Foundation® (RWJF) Executive Nurse Fellows. Twenty nurses, selected from among the top nursing leaders nationwide, will join more than 200 nurse leaders who have participated in the program since 1998. With nurses from Oklahoma and Rhode Island, two states new to the program, the Executive Nurse Fellows network now extends across 46 states.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 16 percent of children ages 6-19 years are overweight or obese - a number that has tripled since 1980.
A new study from the US suggests that travel is linked to a higher risk of developing a deep vein thrombosis (DVT), also known as a venous
Results of the Asthma Intervention Research 2 (AIR2) Trial of the Alair(R) Bronchial Thermoplasty System, developed by Asthmatx, Inc., were announced at ATS 2009, the International Conference of the American Thoracic Society, in San Diego, Calif. The AIR2 results demonstrated statistically significant improvements in quality of life measurements, reductions in asthma attacks (severe exacerbations) and emergency room visits for respiratory symptoms in adults with severe asthma who underwent bronchial thermoplasty delivered by the Alair System.
As leaders at the G8 summit in L"Aquila gather to discuss global
New research may help doctors pinpoint when patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) are becoming dangerously ill. The findings may also point the way to interventions that could sustain the lives of IPF patients until life-saving transplants could be performed.
DrugScope has published research [1] showing that 1 in 5 adults in the UK have either direct or indirect personal experience of drug addiction [2]. The survey findings, revealed exclusively in the charity"s magazine Druglink, shed new light on public attitudes to drug use and drug users.
AAMC (Association of American Medical Colleges) President and CEO Darrell G. Kirch, M.D., issued the following statement today on President Obama"s nomination of Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D., to be the new director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH):
The House Appropriations Committee during consideration of the fiscal year 2010 Financial Services spending bill on Tuesday defeated an amendment that sought to prohibit Washington, D.C., from using locally raised money to fund abortion services, CQ Today reports. Funding for the district is under the bill"s jurisdiction.The panel voted 26-33 to defeat the amendment, offered by Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-Kan.) and Lincoln Davis (D-Tenn). The committee approved the FY 2010 funding bill by voice vote, and House Democrats hope to have the measure on the floor by late next week (Clarke, CQ Today, 7/8).
Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said on Tuesday that GOP senators would not use procedural maneuvers to delay Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor"s confirmation hearing, CQ Today reports. According to CQ Today, "It could be in the Republicans" own political interest to go ahead with the Sotomayor hearings as currently scheduled," because it would allow them to "argue that the Senate Finance Committee cannot mark up its version of a health care overhaul next week because four of its GOP members" -- including ranking Republican Charles Grassley (Iowa) -- also serve on the Judiciary Committee. The first hearing is scheduled to begin Monday. Sessions said, "We"re going to do our best to be ready Monday" (Perine, CQ Today, 7/7). Barring any unexpected developments, Sotomayor should be confirmed before the August recess, according to The Hill. Republicans this spring had pushed for delaying a floor vote to the fall, but the change of course shows that Democrats "continue to enjoy the upper hand" in the confirmation process, The Hill reports. It also indicates that most Republicans agree with Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) that only a week of hearings will be necessary (Rushing, The Hill, 7/7).
A condition known as congenital adrenal hyperplasia, or CAH, is easily treatable but frequently overlooked or misdiagnosed, leading to infertility and other "perplexing symptoms," the New York Times reports. CAH is a hormone deficiency that leads to excess production of androgens, which can hinder ovulation in women and cause low sperm count in men. It also can cause short stature, body odor, acne, irregular menstruation and excessive hair growth. The condition can be diagnosed through a blood test and treated with small doses of the steroid dexamethasone, which can reverse symptoms in three months to two-and-one-half years.According to Maria New, a leading authority on CAH and a professor of pediatrics and human genetics at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, the disease occurs in one in every 100 people in the general population. It is more common among certain ethnic groups, occurring in one in 27 Ashkenazi Jews and one in 40 Hispanics. Not everyone with the condition has symptoms or needs to be treated. The most severe form of the disease, classic CAH, can result in ambiguous genitalia in girls, while the milder nonclassical form sometimes produce no symptoms, the Times reports.Many fertility clinics do not test for the disease or only test after attempting other treatments. Some obstetricians are unaware of CAH and its effect on fertility, according to Zev Rosenwaks, director of the Center for Reproductive Medicine at New York Presbyterian-Weill Cornell hospital. CAH also can be confused with polycystic ovarian syndrome -- which has some similar symptoms -- or early puberty in younger patients (Tarkan, New York Times, 7/7).
US researchers found that feeding middle-aged mice the antibiotic rapamycin, an anti-fungal agent originally discovered in the soil of Easter
In a story headlined "In Retooled Health-Care System, Who Will Say No?" the Washington Post reports: "Although Obama and his advisers have held up providers" spending patterns as the crux of the crisis, proposals in Washington go only so far in addressing the thorniest questions about who gets what care." Two topics under discussion broach the subject: comparative effectiveness research, a method that "weighs the risks and benefits of different types of treatment for the same illness," and Medicare payment reforms that would "emphasize the overall quality of care over the quantity of treatments."
"[E]xplicit indicators to measure progress in reducing heart diseases, stroke, diabetes, cancers and chronic respiratory diseases" are missing from the U.N. Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) agenda as it meets in Geneva this week "to focus on implementing the internationally agreed goals and commitments in regard to public health," and the "omission needs to be urgently addressed if the intent is to have a major impact on reducing poverty by 2015," Ala Alwan, WHO"s assistant director-general for Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health; George Alleyne, PAHO"s director emeritus; and Martin Silink, president of the International Diabetes Federation write in an opinion piece in the Hindu.
The GMC is calling for people to give their input on guidance that doctors must follow when filming or making audio recordings of patients and undertaking research.
Kenya
The International Diabetes Federation (IDF), the International Union Against Cancer (UICC) and the World Heart Federation (WHF) havecalled on the UN"s Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) to take immediate action to avert the fastest growing threat by non-communicable diseases (NCDs) to global health.
New consensus has been reached by a panel of leading European experts on the guidelines for the treatment of acute minor wounds which states that healing is accelerated by a moist wound environment.
In letters to Senators Charles Grassley and Herb Kohl, and Representatives Henry Waxman, Bart Stupak , John Dingell & Barney Frank, the Law Project for Psychiatric Rights (PsychRights) has exposed massive Medicaid Fraud. While working on PsychRights v. Alaska , its lawsuit to prohibit the State of Alaska from the largely ineffective and always harmful psychiatric drugging of children and youth, PsychRights "discovered that it is illegal for the vast bulk of these prescriptions to be reimbursed by Medicaid."
Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that survival among women with ovarian cancer is influenced by age of menarche and total number of lifetime ovulatory cycles.
Ask any mother and she"ll tell you that raising a preschooler is no easy task. Now imagine what it must be like to bring up a child with autism or a developmental delay.
Adverse work conditions may be to blame for the decline in the number of primary care physicians nationwide, according to a study published in the latest issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.
A new finding reveals that African-American patients with breast, ovarian, and prostate cancer tend to die earlier than patients of other races with these cancers, even when they receive identical medical treatment and when socioeconomic factors are controlled for. The finding, an analysis of almost 20,000 patient records from 35 clinical trials, points to biological or genetic factors as the potential of the survival gap. Dawn Hershman, M.D, M.S., a Columbia University Medical Center oncologist whose research is dedicated to examining racial and ethnic disparities in cancer outcome and in cancer survivorship, was the senior author of the research published online by the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (JNCI).
Array BioPharma Inc. (NASDAQ: ARRY) announced top-line results from its Phase 1 seven-day dose escalation trial up to 1,200 mg daily of p38 inhibitor, ARRY-797, in healthy volunteers. In addition, the top-line results were announced in a second study, where ARRY-797 was evaluated in a 28-day Phase 1b trial in stable rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients taking methotrexate. This study compared two doses of ARRY-797 to placebo.
A Medical College of Georgia nurse researcher is among the first in the nation to receive National Institutes of Health stimulus funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
Nanyang Technological University (NTU)"s Associate Professor Zhong Guofu has made a significant contribution to the field of organic chemistry, in particular the study of using small organic molecules as catalysts, in the synthesis process called organocatalysis. Such synthesis process takes place for example, during the production of chiral drugs.
White House officials said today that getting ready for the flu in the fall, whether it is seasonal flu or the ongoing H1N1 swine flu outbreak, is a
A ÷£5million package of measures is being rolled out to help improve services for children and young people with communication problems. A new Communication Champion is also being recruited to raise the profile of these issues, Children"s Secretary, Ed Balls and Care Services Minister Phil Hope announced today.
One-in-five (21%) primary care trusts (PCTs) do not offer "clinical assessment
Siemens Enterprise Communications has won a four year multi-million pound framework contract to provide Barts and The London NHS Trust with an integrated Enterasys fixed and wireless LAN and security infrastructure. The first phase in a three stage communications programme, the new infrastructure - due for completion in 2010 - will provide a single network able to handle all optical images, video streaming and traffic from multiple wireless devices and PCs for 300 beds at Barts hospital.
The Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection is notifying consumers about a voluntary recall announced by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. The recalled Jaloma Pacifiers were sold in retail stores in New Jersey and New York from February 2008 through March 2009, for approximately $1.00. Although not sold in Connecticut stores, this recalled product may have been purchased while visiting the above noted states or may have been sent to Connecticut as a gift. The pacifiers were manufactured in Mexico and imported by Gromex Inc., of Passaic, New Jersey. Although no injuries and/or incidents have been reported, the potential for injury is high due to the pacifier mouth guard and the ventilation holes are too small and fail to meet federal safety standards, for this reason, the pacifier poses a choking hazard to young children.
Researchers conclude in a paper just published on bmj.com that one in three breast cancers detected in a population with a public breast screening program is overdiagnosed.
Schering-Plough Corporation (NYSE: SGP) announced that Schering-Plough K.K., the company"s country operation in Japan, has received marketing approval for REMERON(R) /Reflex(R) (mirtazapine)15 mg Tablets for the treatment of major depressive disorder.(1) The product was developed jointly with Meiji Seika Kabushiki Kaisha, Ltd. Schering-Plough and Meiji Seika will market the product under the trade names, REMERON(R) and Reflex(R), respectively. REMERON is currently available in more than 90 countries worldwide.
Hereditary angioedema (HAE) is an autosomal dominant disease affecting approximately 10,000 people in the United States. HAE causes recurrent attacks of intense localized edema involving the skin, airway, and visceral organs. While chronic therapy with attenuated androgens or plasmin inhibitors has been the mainstay of HAE therapy, many new therapies for prophylaxis and acute treatment are on the horizon. It is important for physicians to understand the signs and symptoms of patients who present with HAE and to be familiar with the conventional and emerging therapies available to treat them.
ZyGEM Corp. Ltd., a provider of innovative enzyme-based products for DNA extraction and other life sciences applications, today announced the availability of a new application note documenting that its prepGEM(R) Bacteria DNA extraction kit is capable of producing high quality, ready-to-analyze DNA from a broad range of bacterial species, including mixed or unknown sample types. This addresses an important unmet need --current DNA extraction methods typically require the use of different enzymes for each type of bacteria tested. The prepGEM(R) Bacteria kit also uses a single closed-tube system that reduces extraction time and cost while protecting the sample from contamination and making the kit easily adaptable for automation.
The Government of Canada announced changes to reduce regulatory burden and encourage innovation and competitiveness in the seed sector. Amendments to the Seeds Regulations will create a more flexible variety registration system with reduced regulation while continuing to maintain the integrity of seed certification and environmental, food, and feed safety.
The American Pharmacists Association (APhA), the national professional society of pharmacists, announces that nominations are now being accepted for the Association"s practitioner awards and honors. Presentation of these awards is scheduled for the APhA Annual Meeting and Exposition in Washington, DC, March 12-15, 2010. Nominations must be received at APhA headquarters by September 15, 2009. APhA"s awards recognition program is American pharmacy"s most comprehensive recognition program.
US researchers have recently confirmed the findings of an earlier smaller study they published last year that suggested women with a history of
President Obama on Wednesday nominated Francis Collins, a physician and genetics researcher, to be NIH director, the Washington Post reports (Brown, Washington Post, 7/9). Collins worked at the agency during the administrations of former Presidents Clinton and George W. Bush and served as director of the National Human Genome Research Institute, where he helped lead the Human Genome Project to sequence all human DNA (Young, The Hill, 7/8). He is also known for a 2006 best-selling book presenting scientific evidence for a belief in God. Collins resigned as head of the institute last year but remained a consultant. Since then, he established the BioLogos Foundation to "contribute to the public voice that represents the harmony of science and faith" (Maugh, Los Angeles Times, 7/9).Many researchers and health care experts praised Collins" nomination, though some others were not "entirely enthusiastic," according to the New York Times. The two major objections to his nomination involve his "very public embrace of religion" and his "important role in raising expectations [of gene research] impossibly high," according to the New York Times (Harris, New York Times, 7/9). Collins and his colleagues at the University of Michigan discovered the defective gene that causes cystic fibrosis in 1989. According to the Los Angeles Times, Collins is expected to be quickly confirmed (Los Angeles Times, 7/9).Broadcast Coverage NPR"s "Morning Edition" on Thursday included a discussion with NPR science correspondent Jon Hamilton about the nomination (Inskeep, "Morning Edition," NPR, 7/9).
Dr. Francis S. Collins, the Yale-educated, guitar-strumming physician and geneticist who led the Human Genome Project, was nominated Wednesday to head the National Institutes of Health, the New York Times reports. "Dr. Collins"s selection, which had been rumored for weeks, was praised by top scientists and research advocacy organizations for whom the health institute is a crucial patron," the Times reports. He is expected to sail through Senate confirmation.
A focus on end-of-life care emphasizes social and spiritual elements over aggressive medical intervention.
The World Food Programme (WFP) issued an urgent appeal on Tuesday for $23 million in "financial support from international donors for food aid to Yemen specifically targeted at women and children," AFP/Google.com reports. The agency said that the "figure represents 42 percent of the 55 million dollars that it needs for the current year to improve the nutrition of more than 1.6 million vulnerable people in Yemen," the news service writes.
Heavy drinking, being 45 to 49 years old, type 1 diabetes or having a preceding infection are associated with more than twice the risk of death in stroke patients 15 to 49 years old, according to a Finnish study.
New data presented by BD Biosciences, a segment of BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company), at the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) 7th Annual Meeting in Barcelona, Spain, highlights two novel flow cytometry-based sorting and analysis methods for neural and embryonic stem cell research. The two data presentations further validate the viability of tools used for separating near-pure populations of stem cell-derived neurons from undifferentiated stem cells (Abstract ID 2276, Poster ID 1177) and shows improved cell recovery and survival of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) after cell sorting (Abstract 2268, Poster ID 1170).
The use of cardiac CT for low-risk chest pain patients in the emergency department, instead of the traditional standard of care (SOC) workup, may reduce a patient"s length of stay and hospital charges, according to a study performed at the University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA. The SOC workup, which is timely and expensive, consists of a series of cardiac enzyme tests, ECGs and nuclear stress testing.
Four researchers at the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute (VBI) at Virginia Tech and their colleagues at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine are advocating the use of systems biology as an innovative clinical approach to cancer. This approach could result in the development of improved diagnostic tools and treatment options, as well as potential new drug targets to help combat the many potentially fatal types of the disease.
Athletic injuries can derail any player"s ability to compete, but for a baseball pitcher his shoulder strength and control is critical. A new study to be presented at the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine"s (AOSSM) Annual Meeting in Keystone, Colorado, suggests that testing a pitcher"s shoulder strength through a series of exercises during the preseason may help create a focused strength training program to prevent serious injury during the season.
BioAlliance Pharma SA (Paris:BIO), the specialty pharmaceutical company focused on therapy and supportive care in cancer and AIDS, announced Europe-wide approval for embossing its Loramyc® mucoadhesive buccal tablet, developed for the treatment of oropharyngeal candidiasis.
A new tool will help researchers identify the minute changes in DNA patterns that lead to cancer, Huntington"s disease and a host of other genetic disorders. The tool was developed at North Carolina State University and translates DNA sequences into graphic images, which allows researchers to distinguish genetic patterns more quickly and efficiently than was historically possible using computers.
Women with hormone receptor (HR) negative first tumors have twice as much risk for developing a second breast cancer as women with HR-positive tumors, according to a study published online July 9 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Dialysis treatments do not affect the heart health of kidney disease patients who have had a heart attack, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology (CJASN). Since cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of death in kidney disease patients, the findings are good news for individuals who need the treatments.
In a May 15 letter to Sens. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) and Dick Lugar (R-Ind.), 31 Republican Indiana state senators asked the lawmakers to oppose the confirmation of Indiana University law professor Dawn Johnsen, President Obama"s nominee to head the Office of Legal Counsel in the Justice Department, due to her support for abortion rights, the AP/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. The state senators wrote that Johnsen"s support for abortion rights "is more than simply pro-choice" and that "she is pro-choice in an extremely radical way," citing Johnsen"s statements and writings. The letter, which was signed by all but two of the state"s Republican senators, asked Bayh and Lugar to consider what Johnsen"s nomination "could mean for the future of the country." Indiana Senate President Pro Tem David Long (R) said, "It"s a statement from a very strong pro-life caucus," adding, "It is not based on the fact she is pro-choice, it is based on the fact that she is radically so." According to Long, the letter originated with a request from Indiana Right to Life to urge Bayh and Lugar to oppose Johnsen"s confirmation.Johnsen in an e-mail said that as a nominee she would not make public comments to the media. White House spokesperson Amy Brundage said that Johnsen "will bring unquestioned integrity and a commitment to non-partisan interpretation of the law to the Office of Legal Counsel, and we"re pleased that both of Indiana"s senators have expressed support for her nomination." Lugar spokesperson Andy Fisher on Monday in an e-mail said that although the senator has said he would not oppose Johnsen"s confirmation, Senate Democrats currently do not have enough support to move forward with the confirmation process. Bayh supports Johnsen"s confirmation, according to Bayh spokesperson Eric Kleiman (Smith, AP/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 5/18).Senate Confirms Hamburg as FDA CommissionerThe Senate on Monday by voice vote confirmed the nomination of Margaret Hamburg to be FDA commissioner, CQ HealthBeat reports (CQ HealthBeat, 5/18). According to the AP/Washington Post, Hamburg"s priorities include leading the development of a swine flu vaccine and overhauling the U.S. food safety system. During her confirmation hearing, Hamburg, a bioterrorism expert, said that she wants to increase consumer confidence in the agency by increasing transparency and accountability. Previously, Hamburg served as an assistant health secretary under President Clinton (AP/Washington Post, 5/19).
Whether having fun, staying in shape or pushing your physical capacity to the extreme, the summer is a great time to enjoy your physical health and move more. Swimming and training for or participating in a marathon or triathalon can be rewarding activities -- and can stay fun with the proper preparation and form. The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) offers summer athletes the following safety tips.
African countries, with the support of WHO and other development partners, are continuously strengthening their general capacity to deal with cases of Influenza A/H1N1 virus if an outbreak occurs in the region.
The World Health Organization has approved GlaxoSmithKline"s human papillomavirus vaccine Cervarix, thus enabling United Nations agencies and partners to officially purchase millions of doses for use in low-income nations, the AP/San Diego Union-Tribune reports (AP/San Diego Union-Tribune, 7/9). Cervarix is highly effective at preventing HPV types 16 and 18, which cause about 70% of cervical cancer cases (GSK release, 7/9). According to the AP/Union-Tribune, more than 80% of the estimated 280,000 cervical cancer deaths annually occur in developing countries.Cervarix has not been approved for use in the U.S. and Japan, but it is available in 97 other countries. FDA is expected to decide in the next few months whether to approve Cervarix for use in the U.S. (AP/San Diego Union-Tribune, 7/9). The agency in 2006 approved Merck"s HPV vaccine Gardasil for girls and women ages nine to 26. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines recommend routine three-dose vaccination for girls ages 11 and 12 and for girls and women ages 13 to 26 who have not yet been vaccinated (CDC fact sheet, June 2008).The three-shot regimen typically costs about $360. It is unclear if GSK will provide Cervarix at a lower cost to U.N. agencies purchasing it for developing countries (AP/San Diego Union-Tribune, 7/9). GSK said that it is "eager to work with our long-term partner GAVI as well as other private [non-governmental organizations] or governments of developing countries to identify financing mechanisms for the vaccine" (Stovall, Dow Jones, 7/9). The global health association GAVI is a major buyer of vaccines for the developing world. In 2008, GAVI prioritized the purchase of HPV vaccines for the world"s 73 poorest nations. The organization includes U.N. agencies, the World Bank and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (AP/San Diego Union-Tribune, 7/9).
The following summarizes selected women"s health-related blog entries. ~ "World Population Day 2009 -- Time To Finally Make Maternal Health a Priority," Sharon Camp, Huffington Post blogs: World Population Day on Saturday "serves as an urgent reminder that ... governments around the world must boost investments in global health," especially maternal health, despite the global economic recession, Camp, president and CEO of the Guttmacher Institute, writes. Efforts "have fallen short" to date as the "financial res and political will needed to promote maternal health have been lagging," Camp writes. She notes that the nations are "hardly any closer" to achieving the United Nations" Millennium Development Goals of reducing maternal deaths by 75% and achieving universal access to reproductive health services by 2015. A "critical shortcoming" of recent efforts to achieve the MDGs has been the "reluctance of some governments and advocates to accept that better maternal health cannot be achieved without acknowledging, committing and fully funding sexual and reproductive health services," Camp writes. In particular, "this includes contraceptive services to help women time and space pregnancies as well as treatment of septic or incomplete abortions," and "providing safe abortion services consistent with individual country law," according to Camp. However, there is "some good news," she writes, noting that "[n]ew momentum behind worldwide advocacy efforts may yield the res and political commitment needed to make a difference." Camp concludes, "It is precisely because res are scarce that they must be used wisely and efficiently in a way that serves both humanitarian and economic development goals. Investing in saving women"s lives fits this bill" (Camp, Huffington Post blogs, 7/9).~ "Proposed Amendments Would Deny Health Care to Women," Lois Uttley, RH Reality Check: In a blog post addressed to "Gentlemen of the Congress," Uttley asks if they have "forgotten about the women" in their lives as they work on crafting health care reform legislation. Uttley writes,"[S]ome of you are wasting valuable time and taxpayer dollars proposing amendments that would deny health care" to several groups of people, including women. She writes that Republican Sens. Mike Enzi (Wyo.), Orrin Hatch (Utah) and Tom Coburn (Okla.) this week submitted amendments to the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee that would ban coverage for abortion services; protect health care providers and insurers from ""discrimination" for refusing to provide health care requested by their patients," including abortion and emergency contraception; allow federally qualified health centers to "not provide abortions and still get government grants"; and require that "[a]ny independent medical board appointed to determine the benefits that would be included in national health reform coverage would have to include "professional ethicists ... with specialty in rights of the life of the unborn."" Meanwhile, Democrats "are spending far too much time trying to win over colleagues who are never going to vote for health reform, no matter if you offer them abortion exclusions or new provider "conscience" laws or other provisions that would hobble health reform," Uttley writes. She continues, "Don"t forget that women are among the strongest supporters of moving quickly on health reform this year" because they are "grassroots experts on what is broken in the current health system," such as insurers" labeling of pregnancy as a "pre-existing condition," using "gender rating" in individual policies and excluding contraception coverage. She asks, "So what do women want?" Uttley provides a "list we"ve been compiling at Raising Women"s Voices for the Health Care We Need." Among the priorities, the list stresses that lawmakers should keep "moral values" out of the debate and that health insurance must be affordable, more simple to understand, fair, portable and universal (Uttley, RH Reality Check, 7/9).~ "Reports
"All 22 Shriners Hospitals for Children will stay open, but some eventually might become outpatient-only surgery facilities, the system that offers free specialty pediatric care said Thursday," CNN reports. "The system, which has covered all costs of its patients" care throughout its 87-year history, eventually will accept insurance from patients who have it, members of the Shriners fraternity decided in their annual convention in San Antonio, Texas. Accepting money from insurers and finding other ways to cut costs will help Shriners retain their presence in all 22 locations, said Doug Maxwell, the new president and CEO of Shriners Hospitals."
Partnering with local physicians, working with local clinics, and conducting educational seminars and health fairs were found to be the most effective tools in recruiting people for Alzheimer"s clinical studies, according to new research reported at the Alzheimer"s Association 2009 International Conference on Alzheimer"s Disease (ICAD 2009) in Vienna.
Telomeres, the repetitive sequences of DNA at the ends of linear chromosomes, have an important function: They protect vulnerable chromosome ends from molecular attack. Researchers at Rockefeller University now show that telomeres have their own weakness. They resemble unstable parts of the genome called fragile sites where DNA replication can stall and go awry. But what keeps our fragile telomeres from falling apart is a protein that ensures the smooth progression of DNA replication to the end of a chromosome.
Sequel Systems, Inc. announced it supports the recommendations from the US. Department of Health and Human Services" Meaningful Use Workgroup for the definition of "meaningful use" as it pertains to electronic health records (EHR).