Want to get the latest microbiology news, podcasts and video content in the palm of your hand? Now there is an app for that. A new application from the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) allows users to access and interact with audio and video content on MicrobeWorld, its award winning multimedia website, directly from their iPhones and iPod Touches. [More]

Emergency medical service (EMS) providers in the United States assess an estimated 350,000 cardiac arrests each year. Only 5 to 10 percent of people who have sudden cardiac arrest survive. Better quality cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) provided by prehospital EMS providers may be associated with better patient outcome. The Resuscitation Outcomes Consortium (ROC) is the largest clinical research network to study prehospital treatments for cardiac arrest in the United States and Canada. [More]

The National Retail Federation today expressed disappointment in the Senate health care reform bill introduced by Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. [More]

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A special edition of UNICEF's annual State of the World's Children report, released 20 years after the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, shows that "fewer youngsters are dying and more are going to school - but an estimated 1 billion still lack services essential to their survival and development," the Associated Press reports. [More]

Spot blood pressure readings in children with chronic kidney disease often fail to detect hypertension - even during doctor's office visits - increasing a child's risk for serious heart problems, according to research from Johns Hopkins Children's Center and other institutions. A report of the findings appears online in the Journal of American Society of Nephrology. [More]

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) for ABILIFY® (aripiprazole) for the treatment of irritability associated with autistic disorder in pediatric patients ages 6 to 17 years, including symptoms of aggression towards others, deliberate self-injuriousness, temper tantrums, and quickly changing moods. [More]

The United States Senate is about to consider health system reform legislation which contains a 5% tax on cosmetic surgery deemed unnecessary for medical purposes. The American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (AAFPRS) announces it strongly opposes the inclusion of this tax as it is discriminatory and has already failed in other states. [More]

Escalon Medical Corp. announced the results for its fiscal first quarter ended September 30, 2009. [More]

Project Bread, the state's leading anti-hunger organization, released numbers from its upcoming annual status report on hunger in the Commonwealth. The disquieting trends described in this report, caused by high unemployment, point to 554,000 people in the Commonwealth struggling with hunger. [More]

President Barack Obama's nominee to head USAID, Rajiv Shah, "made the rounds" on Capitol Hill Thursday, which included a meeting with Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair John Kerry (D-Mass.), Politco's Laura Rozen reports on her foreign policy blog. Rozen also examines this week's markup of the Kerry-Lugar foreign aid reform bill and quotes a Hill staffer saying that there is a "fundamental disagreement between what USAID should look like and what it should do between the administration and Congress." [More]

Cornerstone Therapeutics Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on acquiring, developing and commercializing significant products primarily for the respiratory and related markets, today reported that it had received a Warning Letter from the Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") alleging that its Deconsal CT chewable tablets (Phenylephrine HCl 10 mg, Pyrilamine Maleate 16 mg) and Deconsal DM chewable tablets (Phenylephrine HCl 10 mg, Pyrilamine Maleate 16 mg, Dextromothorphan HBr 15 mg) are new drugs lacking an approved application and as such should not be introduced into interstate commerce. [More]

With the Senate's test vote fast approaching, some lawmakers are disclosing where they stand. For instance, Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., said Friday he will vote with Democrats to advance to debate on a health care reform bill but that he's reserving the right to vote down the bill on final passage. [More]

GOT YOUR BACK will be hosting an Open House at their retail location at 521 East Hector Street, Conshohocken, PA on December 12th from 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. Guests will include health and wellness professionals, chiropractors, massage therapists and those interested in alternative fitness and wellness throughout the tri-state area. Visitors will enjoy food, beverages, a free chair massage, and free on site diagnosis of the spine. This event is also open to the public and special discounts will be offered throughout the store exclusively for attendees of this event. [More]

A Lancet World Report examines how a small group of village volunteers trained in basic health care are helping to improve the health of Ugandan children. "In a country where government spending on health is US$39 per person and 13% of children younger than 5 years die, trained volunteer health workers can make a substantial difference in remote rural areas," said Jerome Kabakyenga, dean of Medicine at the Mbara University of Science and Technology (MUST). [More]