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Scientists direct embryonic, induced human stem cells to become astrocytes in lab dish

Pity the lowly astrocyte, the most common cell in the human nervous system. Long considered to be little more than putty in the brain and spinal cord, the star-shaped astrocyte has found new respect among neuroscientists who have begun to recognize its many functions in the brain, not to mention its role in a range of disorders of the central nervous system.

23 May 2011

Travel, hunting, and venison consumption linked to prion diseases

Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have examined the potential for human exposure to prion diseases, looking at hunting, venison consumption, and travel to areas in which prion diseases have been reported in animals.

23 May 2011

Scientists invent Monolayer Stress Microscopy to measure physical forces during collective cellular migration

The physical forces that guide how cells migrate-how they manage to get from place to place in a coordinated fashion inside the living body- are poorly understood. Scientists at the Harvard School of Public Health and the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia have, for the first time, devised a way to measure these forces during collective cellular migration.

23 May 2011

Synthon opens state-of-the-art laboratory for biotechnology

Synthon opened its state-of-the-art laboratory for biotechnology today, an important step in the company’s development into a ‘specialty pharmaceutical’ firm. Ms. Renée Bergkamp, Director-General of Enterprise and Innovation of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation, and Mr. Thom de Graaf, Mayor of Nijmegen, attended the official opening.

22 May 2011

Global scientists rebuke coming decision on carcinogenicity of radiofrequency and microwaves

In collaboration with the International EMF Alliance (IEMFA), scientists from Europe, North America, Australia and Israel have sent an Open Letter to Dr. Christopher Wild, Director of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), calling for a postponement of the forthcoming meeting May 24-31, 2011 in Lyon, France, “Non-Ionizing Radiation, Part II: Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Field [includes mobile telephones],” at which determination of the carcinogenicity of cell phones and wireless technologies will be made.

22 May 2011

16 Countries announce new commitments to reduce maternal, newborn and child mortality

Today 16 countries announced new commitments to dramatically reduce maternal, newborn and child mortality, as part of the Global Strategy for Women's and Children's Health.

21 May 2011

CDC issues guidelines on dealing with the walking dead

Hoping to draw attention to other disaster preparedness, a normally stoic Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued guidelines this week on how to cope with an invasion of the brain-munching walking dead.

21 May 2011

Medicine, osteopathy, physical therapy and chiropractic colleges collaborate to study safety in spinal manipulation

A recent team grant by the Canadian Institute for Health Research is providing an innovative approach to researching patient safety for those who provide and receive spinal-manipulative therapy. The $2-million grant over five years brings together health researchers from across Canada and will involve input from four regulatory colleges in Alberta.

21 May 2011

Breast cancer survivors, advocates stress importance of Every Woman Counts program

Responding to Governor Brown's announced revised budget, breast cancer survivors and advocates from across the state stressed the importance of early detection.

21 May 2011

UM Board of Regents approves $13.7M renovation project for new health care policy institute

A new health care policy institute – one that is expected to become one of the largest of its kind in the nation – will be established at the University of Michigan's North Campus Research Complex.

21 May 2011

Local production of pharmaceuticals could improve access in developing countries, U.N. report says

A U.N. Conference on Trade and Development report issued last week suggested "[l]ocal production of pharmaceuticals in some poor African and Asian countries, such as Ethiopia, Uganda, and Bangladesh, has the potential to improve access to essential drugs for many of the one billion people who live in the world's least developed countries," BMJ News writes.

21 May 2011

OPINION: Global health community must recognize merits of HIV treatment as prevention

"Many interesting research questions now lie ahead. But most urgent will be the assessment of the practical impact of these findings and their public health importance in generalised epidemics," according to a Lancet editorial about last week's release of study results showing early HIV treatment dramatically reduces transmission risk.

21 May 2011

World Health Assembly could pass resolutions asking governments to improve water, sanitation, IPS reports

Inter Press Service reports on the possibility that the World Health Assembly "could adopt landmark resolutions asking governments to improve water and sanitation to eradicate cholera and guinea worm," the latter of which exists in only four countries - Ghana, Mali, Ethiopia and Sudan.

21 May 2011

House GOP plans vote on canceling health bill provision on medical education

House Republicans plan another vote on a bill to roll back a spending provision of the health law. Plus some question whether Senate candidate Tommy Thompson is out of step with other Republicans on health care reform, and what OMB's role was in the latest ACO regs.

21 May 2011

'No magic pill' for HIV prevention

AIDS Healthcare Foundation today released the results of a groundbreaking online survey designed to gain better understanding of community perceptions regarding the possible use of an HIV prevention pill.

20 May 2011

CSL welcomes historic pandemic agreement

CSL Biotherapies welcomed news overnight of a decision by the World Health Assembly to adopt the Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Framework for the Sharing of Influenza Viruses and Access to Vaccines and Other Benefits. The Framework is the culmination of several years work by a dedicated working group of the World Health Organisation (WHO) and paves the way for greater global collaboration between public and private stakeholders in preparing the world for possible future influenza pandemics.

19 May 2011

MAXIMUS wins Title IV-E Foster Care and Adoption Assistance contract in Wisconsin

MAXIMUS, a leading provider of government services worldwide, announced today that its Human Services North America Division has won a renewal of its Title IV-E Foster Care and Adoption Assistance contract with the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families.

19 May 2011

Simple home-based colon cancer screening test can prevent many unnecessary deaths in Canada

Use of a simple, at-home screening test by Canadians can prevent many unnecessary colorectal cancer deaths, according to a special report about colorectal cancer in Canadian Cancer Statistics 2011 released today by the Canadian Cancer Society, in collaboration with the Public Health Agency of Canada and Statistics Canada.

19 May 2011

Low calorie sweeteners offer effective solution to manage weight

The desire to eat sweet things does not need to be suppressed, just managed, according to health and nutrition experts meeting at the International Sweeteners Association's conference in Brussels today.

19 May 2011

Consumption of dairy products does not increase heart attack risk

Dairy products can be high in harmful saturated fat but not necessarily in risk to the heart. A newly published analysis of thousands of adults in Costa Rica found that their levels of dairy consumption had nothing to do statistically with their risk of a heart attack.

19 May 2011

Public Health News and Research

Scientists direct embryonic, induced human stem cells to become astrocytes in lab dish

Travel, hunting, and venison consumption linked to prion diseases

Scientists invent Monolayer Stress Microscopy to measure physical forces during collective cellular migration

Synthon opens state-of-the-art laboratory for biotechnology

Global scientists rebuke coming decision on carcinogenicity of radiofrequency and microwaves

16 Countries announce new commitments to reduce maternal, newborn and child mortality

CDC issues guidelines on dealing with the walking dead

Medicine, osteopathy, physical therapy and chiropractic colleges collaborate to study safety in spinal manipulation

Breast cancer survivors, advocates stress importance of Every Woman Counts program

UM Board of Regents approves $13.7M renovation project for new health care policy institute

Local production of pharmaceuticals could improve access in developing countries, U.N. report says

OPINION: Global health community must recognize merits of HIV treatment as prevention

World Health Assembly could pass resolutions asking governments to improve water, sanitation, IPS reports

House GOP plans vote on canceling health bill provision on medical education

'No magic pill' for HIV prevention

CSL welcomes historic pandemic agreement

MAXIMUS wins Title IV-E Foster Care and Adoption Assistance contract in Wisconsin

Simple home-based colon cancer screening test can prevent many unnecessary deaths in Canada

Low calorie sweeteners offer effective solution to manage weight

Consumption of dairy products does not increase heart attack risk

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