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Young men take riskier decisions in presence of attractive women, study confirms

The presence of an attractive woman elevates testosterone levels and physical risk taking in young men, according to a recent study in the inaugural issue of Social Psychological and Personality Science (published by SAGE).

20 Mar 2010

Haiti rebuilding assessment calls for health improvements; U.S., international donors continue long-term reconstruction efforts

"An assessment [for rebuilding Haiti after the January earthquake] prepared by foreign experts for the U.N. ... calls for a system that guarantees universal access to primary care, quality services and essential medication," the Wall Street Journal reports.

20 Mar 2010

Interest groups weigh in on reform: AHIP opposes it; Unions offer support

Politico: With the clock ticking toward an important health reform vote, major interest groups "are drawing lines in the sand and warning lawmakers that their vote will leave a mark. The groups are blasting a final round of ads into targeted districts ... and, in some cases, are threatening to support — and, more important, fund — challengers if members of Congress vote the wrong way.

20 Mar 2010

Genetic study may help develop potential treatment strategies for stiff skin syndrome

By studying the genetics of a rare inherited disorder called stiff skin syndrome, researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have learned more about scleroderma, a condition affecting about one in 5,000 people that leads to hardening of the skin as well as other debilitating and often life-threatening problems.

20 Mar 2010

EUREKA project develops unique range of antibodies

EUREKA project E! 3424 RECAN has developed a range of unique and highly specific monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies - the proteins produced in the blood which counteract bacteria, viruses or cancerous cells.

20 Mar 2010

Investigation on spread of illegal drug use in social networks

Recent studies have shown that behaviors such as happiness, obesity, smoking and altruism are "contagious" within adult social networks. In other words, your behavior not only influences your friends, but also their friends and so on.

20 Mar 2010

New WHO report estimates 440,000 MDR-TB cases worldwide in 2008

There were an estimated 440,000 cases of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) around the world in 2008 - one-third of which were fatal, according to a new WHO report on drug-resistant TB, the Los Angeles Times reports (Maugh, 3/19).

20 Mar 2010

Hospital costs for treating septicemia increased from $4.1 billion in 1997 to $12.3 billion in 2007

The hospital costs for treating septicemia increased by an average of nearly 12 percent each year from 1997 to 2007, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Treating this potentially deadly blood infection increased from $4.1 billion in 1997 to $12.3 billion in 2007.

20 Mar 2010

House Democrats prepare for Sunday vote on health reconciliation bill

The Associated Press: "In seeking enough votes to overhaul the nation's health care system, President Barack Obama is telling nervous Democratic lawmakers that their political fates are linked to the bill's passage, discouraging the notion that they can save themselves by opposing it, House members say." White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs "who said the president has spoken with more than three dozen Democratic lawmakers since Monday, repeatedly sidestepped questions of whether Obama has told them his presidency's fate depends on the legislation's passage" (Babington, 3/19).

20 Mar 2010

Effective defense against HIV: Acne drug minocycline

Johns Hopkins scientists have found that a safe and inexpensive antibiotic in use since the 1970s for treating acne effectively targets infected immune cells in which HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, lies dormant and prevents them from reactivating and replicating.

20 Mar 2010

Myths and explainers about health reform bill and Congressional procedures

The Washington Post reports on a few of the misconceptions that are creating "the mythology about how we got here." The "myths" examined include "this could have been a bipartisan bill," "Democrats gave up on the public option too soon," "Scott Brown changed everything," "the public is undecided about health-care reform," and "how lawmakers vote on health-care reform will be the top issue in the 2010 midterm elections" (Cillizza, 3/21).

20 Mar 2010

Hospital News: Insurer negotiations, exemptions at risk, and Florida money trouble

Hospitals are pushing for higher reimbursement rates - in some cases, raises of more than 20 percent - and insurers are increasingly fighting back, The Wall Street Journal reports. "Hospitals argue that low Medicare rates and cuts to Medicaid mean that hospitals have to get money from elsewhere, and increasingly that is private insurers.

20 Mar 2010

Obama emphasizes historic nature of health care vote during final rally

The Washington Post: "Thousands of people rallied loudly for passage of health-care legislation in Northern Virginia Friday as President Obama tried one final time to demonstrate public support for the health-care bill that is moving toward a Sunday afternoon vote in Congress.

20 Mar 2010

For undecided lawmakers, health care bill is personal

Politico: The decision on how to vote on the health care overhaul affects members differently than nearly any other issue. "[N]o other single issue — civil rights, Medicare, even war in this age of professional armies — quite matches the personal side of health care's stubborn details. … Everybody gets sick; everybody dies.

20 Mar 2010

Mental activity during meditation is wakeful and relaxed, says study

Forget about crystals, candles, Eastern philosophy, and about sitting and breathing in awkward ways. Meditation research explores how the brain works when we refrain from concentration, rumination and intentional thinking.

20 Mar 2010

Winner of 2010 European Magnetic Resonance Award

Dr John Griffiths, a Cancer Research UK-funded scientist, has received the 2010 European Magnetic Resonance Award for Basic Sciences.

20 Mar 2010

Obama, Dem leaders confident about health reform legislation

The Wall Street Journal / Dow Jones: "House Democratic leaders expressed confidence Friday that they would have enough votes to pass health-care legislation, picking up one new 'yes' vote and promising that they would resolve lingering concerns raised by undecided Democrats." A House vote is planned for Sunday.

20 Mar 2010

KHN columns explore how abortion funding issues are factoring into health reform

In one Kaiser Health News column, Jessica Arons writes: "In an attempt to keep health reform from being torpedoed by the ever-contentious topic of abortion, advocates and opponents of abortion rights were expected to agree that legislation would preserve the "status quo" on abortion law and not be used to advance or restrict abortion rights.

20 Mar 2010

Report highlights gains in malaria fight, documents need for more funding

Global funding for efforts to fight malaria, which stood at $2 billion at the end of 2009, have "helped to contain the disease," but is "far short of the estimated $6 billion required annually to expand" efforts to fight it, the Roll Back Malaria Partnership said on Thursday, Reuters reports. The statements came as the partnership released a report (.pdf) that examined a decade's worth of global funding for malaria and its impact on fighting the disease (Hardach, 3/18).

20 Mar 2010

Drug company fights for patent extension

The New York Times: The drug maker Medicines Company that makes the blood thinner called Angiomax, missed the application deadline to extend its patent back in 2000 by a day or two, depending on how you count.

20 Mar 2010