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Food Safety News releases 2009 “Naughty” list, “Nice” list to follow

Food Safety News, the web-based newspaper that covers all things food safety, has published the first half of its 2009 Food Safety Naughty and Nice list. The website, which has had more than 75,000 unique visitors since its September, 2009 launch, compiled the list from stories it covered as well as input from the food safety community. The release of the finger-wagging “Naughty” list will be followed by a kudos-to “Nice” list, just in time for Santa’s sleigh.

23 Dec 2009

Special issue on climate justice highlights effects of global warming on human health

Global warming, pollution, and the environmental consequences of energy production impose a greater burden on low-income, disadvantaged communities, and strategies to prevent these inequities are urgently needed.

23 Dec 2009

New CIHI study highlights that Canada needs to retrieve more organs for transplants

The availability of donated organs in Canada rose by more than one-quarter (28%) over the past decade, but this increase is not keeping pace with demand. More than 1,000 Canadians donated organs in 2008, up from 812 in 1999, according to a new study released today by the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI).

23 Dec 2009

CEO Cancer Gold Standard accreditation for Aldagen

Aldagen, Inc. has received CEO Cancer Gold Standard™ accreditation, recognizing the company’s commitment to taking concrete actions to reduce the cancer risk of its employees and their families through screenings, early detection, and healthy changes in lifestyle and in the workplace.

23 Dec 2009

Implications of physician-assisted suicide for people with disabilities

Although public opinion in the United States on physician-assisted suicide is evenly divided, about half of states have either defeated bills to legalize assisted suicide or have passed laws explicitly banning it and only two states (Oregon and Washington) have legalized it. In this environment, A Disability Perspective on the Issue of Physician-Assisted Suicide, a special issue of Disability and Health Journal: The Official Journal of the American Association on Health and Disability, published by Elsevier, examines the issues related to assisted suicide and disability, the legal considerations and the Oregon and Washington experiences.

23 Dec 2009

One-third of parents do not expect to get H1N1 vaccine for kids; concerns about safety remains major factor

A new poll by researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) shows the shortage of H1N1 vaccine for children is easing. As of late last week, three-quarters of parents who tried to get the vaccine for their children were able to do so.

23 Dec 2009

Autism study and gene therapy in vision are top scientific achievements in 2009

A landmark autism study and a dramatic success for gene therapy in reversing inherited blindness, both at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, were recognized among the top scientific achievements in 2009, according to three national publications: Time magazine, Discover magazine and the journal Science.

23 Dec 2009

Poverty and dropout rates as important as smoking problem in the U.S.

The average low-income person loses 8.2 years of perfect health, the average high school dropout loses 5.1 years, and the obese lose 4.2 years, according to researchers at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. Tobacco control has long been one of the most important public health policies, and rightly so; the average smoker loses 6.6 years of perfect health to their habit.

23 Dec 2009

Bishops urge Congress and the Administration to fashion health care reform legislation

The current health care reform bill is "deficient" and should not move forward without "essential changes," the chairmen of three committees of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops said December 22.

23 Dec 2009

Kaiser Permanente approves $2.1 million in grants and donations to promote healthy eating

With hunger in America reaching its highest level in 14 years, Kaiser Permanente has quadrupled the amount it invests in programs to promote healthy eating during difficult economic times.

23 Dec 2009

High prevalence of type 2 diabetes may be linked to excess niacin intake

Facing the increasing prevalence of type 2 diabetes worldwide in the past few decades, one may ask what is wrong with humans. Geneticists tell us that the human genome has not changed markedly in such a short time.

23 Dec 2009

Former CDC head to lead Merck's vaccine division

The pharmaceutical company Merck on Monday named former CDC head Julie Gerberding as president of the company's vaccine division, Reuters reports. "Gerberding, who led the CDC from 2002 to 2009 and stepped down when President Barack Obama took office, will head up the company's $5 billion global vaccine business that includes shots to prevent chickenpox, cervical cancer and pneumonia," the news service reports.

22 Dec 2009

Disability-related problems continue to rise among older adults

Disability rates among non-institutionalized older Americans increased between 2000 and 2005, a trend that could seriously impact the quality of life of seniors in the coming decades if it continues, according to a study led by researchers at the University of Toronto and the University of California, Berkeley.

22 Dec 2009

Obama praises Senate for clearing key health care hurdle

"President Barack Obama on Monday praised the Senate for clearing a key hurdle after midnight Sunday on the health care reform package, calling it a victory against 'special interests' that will reduce costs and the deficit," Roll Call reports.

22 Dec 2009

Alternative technique for lumbar fusion with autologous bone plugs

The method presented in this book is a minimally invasive operative technique that applies autologous bone plugs with unilateral oblique posterior intervertebral body fusion instead of foreign body fixation. It is a revolutionary technique for a lumbar fusion operation that uses material from the individual patient and therefore has no risk of rejection.

22 Dec 2009

Veolia Energy North America signs long-term agreement to operate MATEP assets in Boston

Veolia Energy North America, a leading provider of sustainable energy services, management solutions, and facility operations is pleased to announce that it has entered into a long-term agreement to operate and maintain the Medical Area Total Energy Plant (MATEP) assets in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston.

22 Dec 2009

Genome-wide study of African and African-American ancestry released by scientists

People who identify as African-American may be as little as 1 percent West African or as much as 99 percent, just one finding of a large-scale, genome-wide study of African and African-American ancestry released today.

22 Dec 2009

Rifampicin resistant tuberculosis

Scientists have identified a strain of antibiotic-resistant tuberculosis that thrives in the presence of rifampin, a front-line drug in the treatment of tuberculosis. The bacterium was identified in a patient in China and is described in a study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Chongqing Pulmonary Hospital, Lanzhou University and Fudan University.

22 Dec 2009

Persistent disparities exist in melanoma diagnosis

White and Hispanic individuals are being diagnosed with melanoma more frequently in recent years, whereas Hispanic and black patients continue to have advanced skin cancer at diagnosis, according to a report in the December issue of Archives of Dermatology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

22 Dec 2009

Aristolochic acid in Chinese herbal products associated with increased risk of urinary tract cancer

The carcinogen aristolochic acid, which was found in many prescribed Chinese herbal products including Guan Mu Tong, is associated with an increased risk of urinary tract cancer, according to a new study published online December 21 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

22 Dec 2009

Public Health News and Research

Food Safety News releases 2009 “Naughty” list, “Nice” list to follow

Special issue on climate justice highlights effects of global warming on human health

New CIHI study highlights that Canada needs to retrieve more organs for transplants

CEO Cancer Gold Standard accreditation for Aldagen

Implications of physician-assisted suicide for people with disabilities

One-third of parents do not expect to get H1N1 vaccine for kids; concerns about safety remains major factor

Autism study and gene therapy in vision are top scientific achievements in 2009

Poverty and dropout rates as important as smoking problem in the U.S.

Bishops urge Congress and the Administration to fashion health care reform legislation

Kaiser Permanente approves $2.1 million in grants and donations to promote healthy eating

High prevalence of type 2 diabetes may be linked to excess niacin intake

Former CDC head to lead Merck's vaccine division

Disability-related problems continue to rise among older adults

Obama praises Senate for clearing key health care hurdle

Alternative technique for lumbar fusion with autologous bone plugs

Veolia Energy North America signs long-term agreement to operate MATEP assets in Boston

Genome-wide study of African and African-American ancestry released by scientists

Rifampicin resistant tuberculosis

Persistent disparities exist in melanoma diagnosis

Aristolochic acid in Chinese herbal products associated with increased risk of urinary tract cancer

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