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FDA clears Roche's new test for detection of CT and NG infections

Roche announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has provided 510(k) clearance to the cobas CT/NG Test for the detection of Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) and Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG) infections in both symptomatic and asymptomatic patients from male urine and self -collected vaginal swabs.

1 Feb 2012

Counterfeit Drugs - New technology to combat counterfeit

A brand new and patented technology has recently been launched that protects patients from buying and using counterfeit medicines. Pharmaceutical companies can now effectively and very economically protect their products and supply chain with this technology, thus avoiding damages and incalculable liabilities resulting from falsified products.

1 Feb 2012

Singapore scientists lead in 3D mapping of human genome

Genome Institute of Singapore's (GIS) Associate Director of Genomic Technologies, Dr Yijun RUAN, led a continuing study on the human genome spatial/structural configuration, revealing how genes interact/communicate and influence each other, even when they are located far away from each other. This discovery is crucial in understanding how human genes work together, and will re-write textbooks on how transcription regulation and coordination takes place in human cells.

1 Feb 2012

Bird flu virus research and need for censorship

A group of scientists have been working on a genetically modified strain of bird flu. A federal advisory board declared Tuesday that the details of the research are a “grave concern” to public safety and should be kept under wraps.

1 Feb 2012

Coroners more likely to hold inquests for childhood deaths from complications of medical care

Coroners are more likely to hold inquests for deaths involving younger people or people who died of fatal complications from medical care, according to a study published in CMAJ.

1 Feb 2012

Lawmakers in Conn., Calif. ready public option, single-payer bills

Lawmakers in Connecticut are considering re-introducing a bill for a public option for health insurance that died last year in the legislature. Similarly in California, state lawmakers are pushing a single-payer bill that died in the legislature last year.

1 Feb 2012

Opinion pieces recognize Global Fund anniversary

Last week, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria celebrated its 10-year anniversary. The following are summaries of two opinion pieces written in recognition of this milestone.

1 Feb 2012

Reference book on methods and approaches in injury research

Two esteemed researchers in the field of injury research have published the most comprehensive reference book to date on the methods and approaches underpinning the scientific discipline of injury control and prevention.

1 Feb 2012

ASM to publish special commentaries on NSABB and H5N1 research

In response to recent actions of the U.S. National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB), which recommended that two scientific journals withhold crucial details in upcoming reports about experiments with a novel strain of the bird flu virus, H5N1, the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) will publish a special series of commentaries by prominent scientists, including the acting chair of the NSABB, weighing in on whether the recommendations were necessary and what role biosecurity considerations should play in the dissemination of research findings.

1 Feb 2012

State roundup: Iowa reconsiders lawmakers' benefits

Two bills introduced in the Iowa House last week would curtail benefits for lawmakers. ... House File 2118 also removes per diem and daily allowances from inclusion in lawmakers' pension calculations, but also requires members and employees of the General Assembly to pay a portion of their health-insurance premiums. That premium payment would have to be at least $100 a month.

1 Feb 2012

The challenge of crafting public health messages to combat childhood obesity

When a Georgia health care organization recently launched a series of childhood anti-obesity ads, they had no idea they'd be accused of attacking rather than advocating for kids.

1 Feb 2012

Media outlets continue to publish expert opinion regarding H5N1 bird flu research

The PBS NewsHour blog "The Rundown" features excerpts from interviews with three experts discussing the recent debate over research conducted on the H5N1 bird flu virus.

1 Feb 2012

Early retirement due to back problems reduces long-term financial capacity

Back problems are a highly prevalent health issue, and people with the condition have a significantly greater chance of retiring early from the workforce, much more so than for any other health condition. A group of Australian researchers reports that not only does early retirement limit the immediate income available to these individuals, but it also reduces their long-term financial capacity, by reducing their ability to accumulate wealth to a significant degree.

1 Feb 2012

Hand hygiene, surgical masks can cut spread of flu-like illnesses upto 75%

Masks and hand hygiene could cut the spread of flu-like symptoms up to 75 percent, a University of Michigan study found.

1 Feb 2012

Majority of women fail to follow recommended MRI breast screening

A study of 64,659 women, recently published in the journal Academic Radiology, found that while 1,246 of these women were at high enough breast cancer risk to recommend additional screening with MRI, only 173 of these women returned to the clinic within a year for the additional screening.

1 Feb 2012

Study finds no link between BDV and psychiatric illness

Over the past 30 years, numerous studies have linked Borna disease virus (BDV) with mental illnesses such as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, anxiety disorder and dementia. Genetic fragments and antibodies to this RNA virus, which causes behavior disorders in a range of mammals and birds, have been found to be prevalent in psychiatric patients, but study results have been inconsistent. Now, the first blinded, case-control study to examine this issue finds no association between the virus and psychiatric illness.

1 Feb 2012

Policy & Politics textbook receives high honors and reviews

The nursing textbook, Policy & Politics in Nursing and Health Care, 6th Edition has received high honors and reviews. Society for Women's Health Research (SWHR) Board member and leader in women's and infants' health and research, Irma Goertzen, RN, MA authored a chapter in this must-have textbook.

1 Feb 2012

Exercise training can combat depressive symptoms in patients with chronic illness

Combat feelings of sadness that often accompany chronic illness with a good work-out, say University of Alabama at Birmingham researchers in a study published recently in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

1 Feb 2012

Link between maternal nurturing and size of hippocampus in healthy children

School-age children whose mothers nurtured them early in life have brains with a larger hippocampus, a key structure important to learning, memory and response to stress. The new research, by child psychiatrists and neuroscientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, is the first to show that changes in this critical region of children's brain anatomy are linked to a mother's nurturing.

31 Jan 2012

$Anti-malarial treatment available to millions of poor Nigerians at a fraction of its normal cost$

Anti-malarial treatment available to millions of poor Nigerians at a fraction of its normal cost

Millions of poor Nigerians will gain access to the most effective combination treatment for malaria at a fraction of its current cost, following the successful conclusion of negotiations between the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID) funded Partnership for Transforming Health Systems (PATHS2) and a variety of international and national stakeholders in Nigeria this week.

31 Jan 2012