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Automated insulin pump delivery can reduce hypoglycemia in individuals with type 1 diabetes

An automated on/off feature built into insulin pump systems can suspend insulin delivery when it detects low blood glucose levels (via continuous glucose monitoring), significantly reducing the severity and duration of hypoglycemia in individuals with type 1 diabetes, according to a study published in Diabetes Technology & Therapeutics, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.

10 Feb 2012

VTT develops new NFC-based applications for visually impaired

As the proportion of senior citizens grows, their special needs are gaining momentum. Human eyesight, for example, weakens with age. VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland has been developing new NFC-based applications that make life easier for the visually impaired.

10 Feb 2012

Water and sanitation sector must speak up to be included in NTD eradication efforts

Applauding the signing of the so-called "London Declaration on NTDs" by a consortium of public and private partners last week, Ned Breslin, CEO of Water For People, writes in this Huffington Post "Impact" opinion piece, "I am saddened by the emphasis on vaccines and medicines as the seemingly only vehicles to eradicate NTDs by London Declaration signatories. And I wonder where water, sanitation and hygiene are in this mix, as by all accounts it is not anywhere to be seen in the NTD eradication initiative."

10 Feb 2012

Gene therapy to promote remyelination in mouse model of MS

Our bodies are full of tiny superheroes-antibodies that fight foreign invaders, cells that regenerate, and structures that ensure our systems run smoothly. One such structure is myelin-a material that forms a protective, insulating cape around the axons of our nerve cells so that they can send signals quickly and efficiently. But myelin, and the specialized cells called oligodendrocytes that make it, become damaged in demyelinating diseases like multiple sclerosis (MS), leaving neurons without their myelin sheaths.

10 Feb 2012

Administration officials announce new initiatives to promote innovations in global development

In a White House briefing on Wednesday, "senior Administration officials announced a series of new initiatives to promote game-changing innovations to solve long-standing development challenges" in response to President Obama's "call to harness science technology, and innovation to spark global development," Gayle Smith, special assistant to the president, and Tom Kalil, senior adviser for science, technology, and innovation, write in this post in the White House Blog.

10 Feb 2012

States' capabilities to share patient data vary greatly

According to a Brookings Institution study, the development of state health information exchanges has been slowed by governance, financing and policy issues.

10 Feb 2012

International Congress on Nursing Informatics to be held June 23-27

Informatics leaders, practitioners and other members of the healthcare community will convene June 23-27, 2012, in Montreal, Canada, for the 11th International Congress on Nursing Informatics (NI2012). The Congress gives participants from across the world a forum to discuss the impact of informatics on patient care improvement, global health, professional practice, health policy and research.

10 Feb 2012

SomaLogic to receive TB biomarkers grant from Gates Foundation

SomaLogic, Inc., announced today that it will receive a tuberculosis (TB) biomarkers grant through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's Grand Challenges in Global Health program, an initiative that seeks to overcome persistent bottlenecks in creating new tools that can radically improve health in the developing world.

10 Feb 2012

New cERD method can detect RNAi activity in biological fluids

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leading RNAi therapeutics company, announced today that its scientists have discovered a novel method for monitoring RNAi activity in blood samples, representing a potential major advance for future development of RNAi therapeutics, other therapeutic modalities, and diagnostics.

10 Feb 2012

New approach for production of tissue culture scaffolds in 3-D arrangements

Scientists at the University of California, San Diego have developed a new method for making scaffolds for culturing tissue in three-dimensional arrangements that mimic those in the body. This advance, published online in the journal Advanced Materials, allows the production of tissue culture scaffolds containing multiple structurally and chemically distinct layers using common laboratory reagents and materials.

10 Feb 2012

New device offers fresh hope for patients with Motor Neurone Disease

Patients suffering from a devastating disease are being given fresh hope through an innovative trial being led by the Sheffield Institute for Translational Neuroscience (SITraN) and Sheffield Teaching Hospitals.

10 Feb 2012

Smith & Nephew introduces POLARCUP Dual Mobility Hip System

Smith & Nephew, the global medical technology business, is introducing the clinically proven POLARCUP Dual Mobility Hip System to orthopaedic surgeons in the US at this year's American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) annual meeting in San Francisco.

10 Feb 2012

Parkinson’s disease gene - parkin explored: Study

Researchers at the University at Buffalo have discovered how mutations in the parkin gene cause Parkinson's disease, which afflicts at least 500,000 Americans and for which there is no cure. The results are published in the current issue of Nature Communications.

9 Feb 2012

Combination of anti-obesity drugs and lifestyle advice effective in reducing weight, BMI

A study led by the University of Leicester has found that anti-obesity drugs coupled with lifestyle advice are effective in reducing weight and BMI.

9 Feb 2012

DNA sequencing can direct immune system to attack cancer

DNA sequences from tumor cells can be used to direct the immune system to attack cancer, according to scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

9 Feb 2012

Scripps Research, Brooks partner to develop and commercialize Plate Auditor

Brooks Life Science Systems, a division of Brooks Automation, Inc., a leading worldwide provider of automation, vacuum, and instrumentation solutions for multiple markets, today announced the initiation of a technology development and commercialization partnership with The Scripps Research Institute.

9 Feb 2012

Viewpoints: Political furor on contraceptive policy; Confusing estimates of Medicare's costs

The political furor over President Obama's birth-control mandate continues to grow, even among those for whom contraception poses no moral qualms, and one needn't be a theologian to understand why. The country is being exposed to the raw political control that is the core of the Obama health-care plan, and Americans are seeing clearly for the first time how this will violate pluralism and liberty.

9 Feb 2012

British Editorial Society of Bone & Joint Surgery launches new online resource

The British Editorial Society of Bone & Joint Surgery, publishers of The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery (British Volume) announce the launch of Bone & Joint - a major new online resource for the orthopaedic and related communities.

9 Feb 2012

Sanford-Burnham, Florida Hospital and Moffitt partner to develop PMP Florida

Moffitt Cancer Center, Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute and Florida Hospital have announced they will collaborate on the creation of a Personalized Medicine Partnership of Florida (PMP Florida). The partnership will conduct collaborative research to accelerate discovery and develop new treatments in the areas of cancer and metabolic diseases, including obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

9 Feb 2012

First comprehensive look at how metal-on-metal total hip replacements fail in patients

A study by Hospital for Special Surgery researchers has provided the first comprehensive look at just how metal-on-metal total hip replacements are failing in patients around the country.

9 Feb 2012