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Frozen blood samples shows promise to study mechanism of blood disorders

Cells from frozen human blood samples can be reprogrammed to an embryonic-stem-cell-like state, according to Whitehead Institute researchers. These cells can be multiplied and used to study the genetic and molecular mechanisms of blood disorders and other diseases.

2 Jul 2010

Heart patients with transient kidney dysfunction have no serious complications

New research led by UC Health cardiologists shows that while short-term worsening kidney function is frequent among patients with heart failure, these patients also have better outcomes than those who have persistent kidney failure

2 Jul 2010

Anti-aging supplement: A fountain of hope for would-be mothers

According to the American Pregnancy Association, six million women a year deal with infertility. Now, a Tel Aviv University study is giving new hope to women who want to conceive ― in the form of a pill they can find on their drugstore shelves right now.

2 Jul 2010

UCLA study highlights traffic-related asthma flares in urban areas

A new academic study led by UCLA scientists has found that even brief exposure to ultrafine pollution particles near a Los Angeles freeway is potent enough to boost the allergic inflammation that exacerbates asthma.

2 Jul 2010

Diabetics need more 'heat awareness'

Hot weather and diabetes can make for a potentially dangerous combination, according to a Mayo Clinic presentation at the 92nd Annual Meeting of the Endocrine Society in San Diego, California, June 19-22.

2 Jul 2010

Seattle Times examines reaction to G8 summit commitments, Upcoming 'Global Washington' recommendations for U.S. foreign assistance reform

The Seattle Times' "The Business of Giving" blog examines global health community leaders' reactions to the outcomes of the recent G8 summit in Canada.

2 Jul 2010

Five questions about the government's new health insurance website

Kaiser Health News staff writer Phil Galewitz provides some key details relating to this new way to shop for health insurance coverage (Galewitz, 7/1).

2 Jul 2010

Small business says 10 percent tanning tax that starts today is overcooked

As of July 1, tanning salons have to charge customers a 10 percent tax on their services to help pay for part of the new health reform law and that requirement has attracted the howls of small business, NPR reports. "Tanning salon owners are outraged. They say the new tax is the last thing they need in a struggling economy.

2 Jul 2010

DNA damage caused by UVA radiation leads to melanoma

A new study by researchers at NYU School of Medicine found that UVA radiation damages the DNA in human melanocyte cells, causing mutations that can lead to melanoma. Melanocytes, which contain a substance called melanin that darkens the skin to protect it from the ultraviolet rays of the sun, are more vulnerable to UVA radiation than normal skin cells because they are unable to repair themselves as efficiently.

2 Jul 2010

Allogeneic stem cell transplant holds promise for treatment-resistant chronic lymphocytic leukemia

Allogeneic (donor-derived) stem cell transplant (alloSCT) may be a promising option for patients with treatment-resistant chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), regardless of the patient's underlying genetic abnormalities, according to the results of a study published online today in Blood, the journal of the American Society of Hematology.

2 Jul 2010

Researchers identify gene abnormality for most common congenital birth defect, clubfoot

Although clubfoot is one of the most common congenital birth defects, few genetic causes have been found. Now, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found what they believe to be the most common cause of inherited clubfoot yet discovered.

2 Jul 2010

Amedica, SUNY Upstate Medical University partner in comparative study of biomaterials

Amedica Corporation, a spinal and orthopaedic implant and instrument manufacturer focused on unique silicon nitride (SiN) ceramic technologies, announced that it has entered into an agreement with SUNY Upstate Medical University to conduct an additional research study that evaluates the company's SiN ceramic technology compared to PEEK interbody fusion devices. The two-year study will measure the fusion performance of the two biomaterials.

2 Jul 2010

Medicare weighs cost, benefit of covering Dendreon's Provenge for prostate cancer

The announcement that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services would do this analysis "was the latest hurdle in Dendreon's push to get its Provenge treatment used. If the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services covers Provenge, that would increase the number of patients eligible and likely force private insurers to do the same.

2 Jul 2010

New formula may speed up organ allocation process, improve transplant outcomes

Only a small fraction of transplant centers nationwide are willing to accept and transplant deceased-donor kidneys that they perceive as less than perfect, leading to lengthy, organ-damaging delays as officials use a one-by-one approach to find a willing taker.

2 Jul 2010

House Subcommittee approves $52.7B FY11 Foreign Ops appropriations bill

The Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs approved a $52.7 billion FY 2011 spending bill on Wednesday that withheld $3.9 billion in aid for Afghanistan over concerns about corruption in the country, CongressDaily reports. The bill "already cut $4 billion from President Obama's request to fund the State Department, U.S. Agency for International Development and dozens of foreign assistance and cooperation programs," the publication writes.

2 Jul 2010

Adding nutrients could improve efficiency of deep sea biological pump

Adding nutrients to the sea could decrease viral infection rates among phytoplankton and enhance the efficiency of the biological pump, a means by which carbon is transferred from the atmosphere to the deep ocean, according to a new mathematical modelling study. The findings, published in the Journal of Theoretical Biology, have implications for ocean geo-engineering schemes proposed for tackling global warming.

2 Jul 2010

Anthem submits new insurance rate plan in Calif. after earlier effort rebuffed

The Los Angeles Times: "Embattled health insurer Anthem Blue Cross is reviving its plan to raise rates for tens of thousands of California policyholders, some of whom could see their premiums rise as much as 20%. California's largest for-profit insurer submitted new rates Wednesday amid pressure to scale back increases of as much as 39% that had provoked fury from consumers, lawmakers and even President Obama" and helped revive the effort to pass a national health care law.

2 Jul 2010

China PharmaHub announces new joint venture for humanized antibody

China PharmaHub Corp., announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement with Dr. David Weaver and Dr. Michael Rynkiewicz. In addition, PharmaHub contemplates merging with World Wide Relics, Inc. of which it recently purchased a 77% interest.

2 Jul 2010

Experts to discuss latest advancements in neurological disorders at Neurorehabilitation Symposium

Scientists and engineers from around the globe will gather in August to share new information regarding neurorehabilitation advances for people with neurological movement disorders, including spinal cord and brain injures.

2 Jul 2010

National debt will continue to surge, CBO predicts, while experts increase scrutiny of health care costs

The Washington Post: "In its latest long-term forecast, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office predicted that the national debt, which has surged to nearly 60 percent of annual economic output in the wake of the recession, would continue rising in the coming decades despite cost-containment measures in the health overhaul Obama signed this spring.

2 Jul 2010