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FDA to implement Abbott's STARLIMS LIMS software

Abbott announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will begin implementing Abbott's STARLIMS software-based laboratory information management system (LIMS) as part of the agency's initiative to enhance FDA testing laboratories.

19 Jan 2012

First study to examine years of life lost in Brisbane climate change

Queensland University of Technology (QUT), in collaboration with CSIRO, has conducted a world-first study into the potential impact climate change will have on 'years of life lost' in Brisbane.

19 Jan 2012

Obesity in the U.S. stabilize: Report

New figures from the federal government shows that the prevalence of obesity in the U.S. largely leveled off over the last decade, even as some individual groups, such as boys from ages 6 to 19, saw increases.

18 Jan 2012

WHO to take lead role in addressing controversial bird flu research, official says

"The World Health Organization says it will take a role in helping sort through an international scientific controversy over two bird flu studies that the U.S. government deemed too dangerous to publish in full," the Canadian Press/Winnipeg Free Press reports.

18 Jan 2012

New pathways in battle against obesity and other lifestyle diseases

The world is encountering an epidemic of obesity, heart disease and diabetes. In the west it is already widespread and it is now exploding in the developing world with the rapid change in the lifestyles of recent generations.

18 Jan 2012

Researchers to anticipate and track risk for infectious disease outbreak at London Olympics

A research team led by St. Michael's Hospital's Dr. Kamran Khan is teaming up with British authorities to anticipate and track the risk for an infectious disease outbreak at the London Olympics this summer.

18 Jan 2012

Paragon receives JVAP-CBMS contract from DoD

Paragon Bioservices, Inc., a Baltimore-based CMO focused on the process development and manufacturing of biologics, announced today that it has been awarded a JVAP-CBMS contract from the Department of Defense (DoD) for the vaccine development and subsequent GMP manufacturing of the "VEE Replicon Particle Trivalent Filovirus Vaccine."

18 Jan 2012

WHO's Chan urges new approach to preventing, fighting diseases at Executive Board meeting

"Countries need to change their current mindset to successfully tackle non-communicable diseases (NCDs), the head of the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) said Monday, adding that governments will need to explore new approaches to prevent and treat these diseases, which have quickly become one of the most pressing issues in public health," the U.N. News Centre reports.

18 Jan 2012

Bloomberg examines effects of financial crisis on global health

Bloomberg examines the effects of the global financial crisis and a resulting stall in development aid for global health programs, writing, "Governments struggling to curb deficits from Spain to the U.S. have cut or slowed the growth of their contributions to the World Health Organization and disease-fighting funds that prop up health services in the world's poorest countries, according to a report by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, a research unit at the University of Washington in Seattle."

18 Jan 2012

Gates, Kristof answer questions about Bangladesh, public health in final installment of blog series

Melinda Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof continue to answer readers' questions in this third and final installment of the series on Kristof's "On the Ground" blog.

18 Jan 2012

Counterfeit, substandard drugs threaten progress in controlling malaria in Africa, researchers report

"Hopes of controlling malaria in Africa could be wrecked by criminals who are circulating counterfeit and substandard drugs, threatening millions of lives, scientists" said in a study published in the Malaria Journal last month, the Guardian reports.

18 Jan 2012

No significant change in prevalence of obesity in the U.S.

There has not been significant change in the prevalence of obesity in the U.S., with data from 2009-2010 indicating that about one in three adults and one in six children and teens are obese; however, there have been increases in certain demographics, according to two studies being published by JAMA. The studies are being released online first because of their public health importance.

18 Jan 2012

Health influence of combustion conditions in wood-burning stoves

Wood-burning stoves are a popular source of heating in many countries. However in recent years there has been much debate about the potential negative health effects associated with wood smoke. A Norwegian researcher has studied the influence of combustion conditions on the emissions and their health effects.

18 Jan 2012

Chronology of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome revealed

It is known from studies that exposure to alcohol during gestation can cause a range of birth defects. But now scientists have drawn up a chronology of when the damage occurs.

17 Jan 2012

Study examines quantity, frequency and timing of alcohol consumption during pregnancy

Prenatal exposure to alcohol is associated with a spectrum of abnormalities, referred to as Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders. Physical features of the more serious Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) include smooth philtrum, thin vermillion border, short palpebral fissures, microcephaly, and growth deficiencies in weight and height. A new study has specified how specific quantities of alcohol exposure, patterns of drinking, and timing of exposure can have an impact on each of these features.

17 Jan 2012

Risk factors associated with increased likelihood of long-term disability in older people

Yale School of Medicine researchers have found that the likelihood of becoming disabled with age increases with the following factors: having a chronic condition or cognitive impairment; low physical activity; slower gross motor coordination; having poor lower-extremity function; and being hospitalized. Women are also more likely than men to become disabled in their later years.

17 Jan 2012

Study examines weather patterns around the time of flu pandemics

Worldwide pandemics of influenza caused widespread death and illness in 1918, 1957, 1968 and 2009. A new study examining weather patterns around the time of these pandemics finds that each of them was preceded by La Ni-a conditions in the equatorial Pacific.

17 Jan 2012

Study finds decline in pediatric drowning hospitalization rates

Fewer children required hospitalization following a drowning incident over the last two decades, according to a new study from the Johns Hopkins Center for Injury Research and Policy.

16 Jan 2012

Smoking to be banned at University of California campuses

The University of California is banning cigarettes and all other tobacco products from its campuses over the next two years. This drastic step is designed to both protect nonsmokers from secondhand smoke and prevent young people from developing the bad habit. Students and staff alike will be prohibited from smoking anywhere on a UC campus - including outdoor spaces, parking lots and private residences. There won't be any designated smoking areas.

16 Jan 2012

New research reveals legacy of lead from old inner city roads a major source of airborne contamination

An international research study published last week in the journal Atmospheric Environment has found that re-suspended roadside soil dust is a major source of atmospheric lead in old inner city areas.

15 Jan 2012

Public Health News and Research

FDA to implement Abbott's STARLIMS LIMS software

First study to examine years of life lost in Brisbane climate change

Obesity in the U.S. stabilize: Report

WHO to take lead role in addressing controversial bird flu research, official says

New pathways in battle against obesity and other lifestyle diseases

Researchers to anticipate and track risk for infectious disease outbreak at London Olympics

Paragon receives JVAP-CBMS contract from DoD

WHO's Chan urges new approach to preventing, fighting diseases at Executive Board meeting

Bloomberg examines effects of financial crisis on global health

Gates, Kristof answer questions about Bangladesh, public health in final installment of blog series

Counterfeit, substandard drugs threaten progress in controlling malaria in Africa, researchers report

No significant change in prevalence of obesity in the U.S.

Health influence of combustion conditions in wood-burning stoves

Chronology of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome revealed

Study examines quantity, frequency and timing of alcohol consumption during pregnancy

Risk factors associated with increased likelihood of long-term disability in older people

Study examines weather patterns around the time of flu pandemics

Study finds decline in pediatric drowning hospitalization rates

Smoking to be banned at University of California campuses

New research reveals legacy of lead from old inner city roads a major source of airborne contamination

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