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Today's Opinions: Brooks, Reich, Fund, Cook on repeal; End-of-life care controversy continues

The health care reform law was signed 10 months ago, and what's striking now is how vulnerable it looks. Several threats have emerged — some of them scarcely discussed before passage — that together or alone could seriously endanger the new system. ... After the trauma of the last two years, many people wish the issue would go away. But it's not going away, especially since costs will continue to rise. (David Brooks, 1/6).

7 Jan 2011

MAXIMUS signs Eligibility Support Services contract with HHSC

MAXIMUS, a leading provider of government services, announced today that it has signed the previously announced Eligibility Support Services contract with the Texas Health and Human Services Commission. The three-year base contract is valued at $315.3 million with an additional two option years.

6 Jan 2011

Researchers create model that predicts drug effects on fetal development

When pregnant women need medications, there is often concern about possible effects on the fetus. Although some drugs are clearly recognized to cause birth defects, and others are generally recognized as safe, surprisingly little is known about most drugs' level of risk. Researchers in the Children's Hospital Boston Informatics Program have created a preclinical model for predicting a drug's teratogenicity based on characterizing the genes that it targets.

5 Jan 2011

Single cancer cell could be detected in future using new test

Soon scientists will be able to detect a single cancer cell among the billions of cells that circulate in the human bloodstream. The method could detect whether the therapy has worked or even show which therapy would work best. The test depends on circulating tumor cells (CTCs) or cancer cells that have detached from the main tumor and are traveling to other parts of the body.

4 Jan 2011

SelectHealth ranked Utah's top HMO health plan

SelectHealth is Utah's top ranked HMO health plan, according to a recent report issued by the Utah Health Data Committee.

4 Jan 2011

MGH, Veridex establish research center of excellence on circulating tumor cell technologies

Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) has entered into a collaborative agreement with Veridex LLC to establish a center of excellence in research on circulating tumor cell (CTC) technologies. The overall goal of the agreement is to develop and commercialize novel technologies for capturing and characterizing CTCs, solid tumor cells found at extremely low levels in the bloodstream, which may offer a key to noninvasive characterization of cancer and potentially to early detection.

4 Jan 2011

Study: Multitude of genes are linked to adult height

As much as 90 percent of variation in adult height may be caused by genetic inheritance, but a multitude of genes are involved. Most of these have yet to be discovered.

4 Jan 2011

Genocea announces close of $35 million Series B venture financing round

Genocea Biosciences Inc., a vaccine discovery and development company pioneering a new class of T cell-based vaccines, today announced that it has closed a $35 million Series B round of venture financing, with new investors Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation (JJDC), Skyline Ventures and MP Healthcare Venture Management, Inc. (MPH) joining existing investors Polaris Venture Partners, Lux Capital Management, SR One, Cycad Group, Auriga Partners and Morningside Ventures.

3 Jan 2011

Positron granted U.S. patents for quantum photodetectors

Positron Corporation, a leading molecular imaging company specializing in the field of nuclear cardiology, today announced it has received two U.S. patents for its proprietary quantum photodetectors.

24 Dec 2010

Silencing of specific genes of germinal cell lines reduces brain tumors

Scientists at IRB Barcelona have discovered that some brain tumours in larvae of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster use the genetic programme of germline cells to grow. The removal of some of these genes leads to healthy brains. This finding demonstrates that these genes are crucial for tumour development. The study, headed by ICREA researcher Cayetano Gonz-lez, is published today in the prestigious journal Science.

24 Dec 2010

Bonovo Orthopedics announces closing of $10M Series C Preferred Stock financing

Bonovo Orthopedics, Inc., a leading provider of orthopedic products to the Chinese healthcare market, announced today that it closed a US$10 million Series C Preferred Stock financing. The financing was led by OrbiMed Asia Partners and was participated in by Legend Capital and Bonovo's existing shareholders.

24 Dec 2010

New nanoparticle-based diagnostic platform provides rapid detection of sepsis

Blood poisoning can be fatal. If you suffer from sepsis, you used to have to wait as much as 48 hours for laboratory findings. A new diagnostic platform as big as a credit card will now supply the analysis after as little as an hour. This system is based on nanoparticles that are automatically guided by magnetic forces.

22 Dec 2010

USPTO validates Spectros white LED patent during reexamination

A core Spectros white LED patent was validated during reexamination by the United States Patent Office, and will reissue next year.

22 Dec 2010

DNA tunneling detector embedded in a ‘Nanopore’

Scientists from Imperial College London are developing technology that could ultimately sequence a person's genome in mere minutes, at a fraction of the cost of current commercial techniques.

20 Dec 2010

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan seeks dismissal of federal antitrust lawsuit

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan today filed a motion in U.S. District Court in Detroit seeking dismissal of the antitrust lawsuit brought by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Michigan Attorney General in October.

20 Dec 2010

Research roundup: Gender differences in health spending; How the states could fare under the new law; Increased Medicare premiums

Health Affairs: Pronounced Gender And Age Differences Are Evident In Personal Health Care Spending Per Person - This paper examines health care spending by men and women in 2004, including comparisons "by age group, goods and services consumed, and payers, and an analysis of some of the most frequently cited health conditions and treatments associated with that spending."

20 Dec 2010

23andMe project aims at validating highly scalable pharmacogenomics research

23andMe has launched a project funded by the National Institutes of Health which is aimed at validating 23andMe's highly-scalable platform for pharmacogenomics research. The company received $190,000 in stimulus funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 for "Web-based Phenotyping for Genome-Wide Association Studies of Drug Response" from NIH's National Human Genome Research Institute.

17 Dec 2010

'Histone code' needs to be used with caution

The function of histones -- the proteins that enable yards of DNA to be crammed into a single cell -- depends on a number of chemical tags adorning their exterior. This sophisticated chemical syntax for packaging DNA into tight little coils or unraveling it again -- called the "histone code" -- is the latest frontier for researchers bent on understanding how genetics encodes life.

17 Dec 2010

AzTe and Zcube: Innovative treatment of chronic respiratory diseases

Zcube, Srl, the research venture of Italian pharmaceutical company Zambon Co., SpA, and Arizona Technology Enterprises (AzTE), the technology venturing arm of Arizona State University, have entered into a licensing agreement that will allow Zcube to use ASU technology to develop and commercialize next-generation medical devices that can better monitor and treat chronic respiratory diseases like asthma.

15 Dec 2010

FOXA1 gene controls oestrogen-fuelled growth of breast cancer cells

CANCER RESEARCH UK scientists have discovered that a single gene controls the oestrogen-fuelled growth of breast cancer cells, according to research published in Nature Genetics on Sunday.

14 Dec 2010