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Viewpoints: 9 'brilliant legal minds' wrestle with tough biological questions in gene case; Drug overdoses take surprising toll in Calif.; VA case raises privacy questions

When the Supreme Court took up the question Monday of whether genes could be patented, the justices were clearly concerned about preserving innovation in medicine and biotechnology. But the issue presented by Myriad Genetics' patents on the BRCA genes cuts both ways, leading to a potential split among the justices (Jon Healey, 4/15).

17 Apr 2013

Global Fund has achieved impressive results, but more work remains

"This week I had the pleasure to host a preparatory meeting between donors of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria," European Commissioner for Development Andris Piebalgs writes in the Huffington Post's "The Big Push" blog.

16 Apr 2013

Study shows mathematical models can help assess effectiveness of HIV intervention combinations

South Africa is home to the largest HIV epidemic in the world with a total of 5.6 million people living with HIV. Large-scale clinical trials evaluating combination methods of prevention and treatment are often prohibitively expensive and take years to complete.

16 Apr 2013

Malaria control strategies must adapt to rapidly changing patterns of infection

Malaria control strategies must keep up with the rapidly changing patterns of malaria infection in low transmission settings, according to the authors of a new Review, published in The Lancet. Whereas women and young children suffer from the greatest burden of malaria in high transmission areas, an increasing proportion of malaria cases in low transmission settings are occurring in adult men, sometimes concentrated in small geographic areas and sharing certain occupations or behaviours.

15 Apr 2013

KYTHERA Biopharmaceuticals reports positive results from Phase IIb study of ATX-101

KYTHERA Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. today presented positive results that found MRI measurements of patients treated with ATX-101 demonstrated a statistically significant reduction in submental fat, commonly known as double chin, during an oral session at The Aesthetic Meeting 2013, organized by the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, April 11-16, New York, NY.

15 Apr 2013

President's FY14 budget proposal encourages more donation to Global Fund

By proposing $1.65 billion for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria "in his 2014 budget request to Congress, President Obama gave the world the next big shove it needs to control and end AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria," Kolleen Bouchane, director of ACTION, writes in the Huffington Post's "The Big Push" blog.

15 Apr 2013

White House releases FY14 budget request

"The Obama administration released its fiscal year 2014 budget on Wednesday," Devex's "Pennsylvania Ave." blog reports (Lieberman, 4/11).

12 Apr 2013

Opinion pieces urge continued support for Global Fund

This week, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria gathered representatives from donor and implementing countries in Brussels, Belgium, to formally launch its 2014-2016 replenishment process.

12 Apr 2013

Global Fund concludes 2-day conference in Brussels

In Brussels on Wednesday, "the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria concluded a two-day conference where it tried to make the case for the $15 billion it aims to raise in a replenishment meeting late 2013," Devex reports.

12 Apr 2013

Blogs, press releases respond to Obama administration's FY14 budget request

The Obama administration on Wednesday released its FY 2014 budget request, including funding for U.S. global health activities and proposed changes to the U.S. food aid program.

12 Apr 2013

Ozone attacks lung surface fluids, causes severe respiratory problems

Research at Birkbeck, University of London uses world-leading neutron sources at ILL and ISIS to demonstrate ozone attacks on lung surface fluids.

12 Apr 2013

Blog examines debate around anti-prostitution pledge law

In the Open Society Foundations' "Voices" blog, Zoe Hudson, a senior policy analyst for the group, discusses a case pending before the U.S. Supreme Court -- USAID v AOSI -- which "challenges a 2003 law that requires all groups receiving U.S. government funds for international HIV and AIDS work to have 'a policy opposing prostitution.'

12 Apr 2013

Australian, Singapore researchers join hands to combat disease-causing bugs

The fight against a number of significant infectious diseases in the Asia-Pacific region has been given a boost through a new research collaboration between the National Health and Medical Research Council in Australia and the Agency for Science, Technology and Research in Singapore.

12 Apr 2013

State highlights: Blue Shield could lose exclusive contract for Calif. workers, retirees; Texas health commission asks for increase in Medicaid premiums

Blue Shield of California may be losing its longtime grip on one of the health care industry's most coveted insurance contracts. Officials at the California Public Employees' Retirement System are recommending breaking up Blue Shield's current statewide HMO contract and replacing it with as many as four health plans for more than 400,000 public workers and their families (Terhune, 4/11).

12 Apr 2013

Improving early childhood development of children of AIDS patients

A simple in-home training program for caregivers can give children of AIDS patients a better shot at prosperity by improving their early-childhood development, according to a study led by a Michigan State University researcher.

12 Apr 2013

Disease burden from air pollution underestimated, U.N. reports

"Air pollution is an underestimated scourge that kills far more people than AIDS and malaria and a shift to cleaner energy could easily halve the toll by 2030, U.N. officials said on Tuesday" at a conference in Oslo focusing on new development goals for the post-2015 development agenda, Reuters reports.

11 Apr 2013

Global health efforts a casualty of across-the-board cuts under 'sequester'

"The across-the-board cuts under the 'sequester' will undermine efficient programs, along with the inefficient. One unfortunate casualty is spending on global health efforts," a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette editorial says.

11 Apr 2013

Aidspan publishes new issue of 'Global Fund Observer'

Aidspan, an independent watchdog of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, has published Issue 214 of its "Global Fund Observer."

11 Apr 2013

$15B commitment to Global Fund would change the course of history

On Monday "in Brussels, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria announced an appeal to government and private sector donors for $15 billion for the next three years," Joyce Banda, president of the Republic of Malawi, writes in the Huffington Post's "The Big Push" blog.

11 Apr 2013

Reuters examines debate among non-profit groups over anti-prostitution pledge law

"A Supreme Court case that challenges a law requiring anti-prostitution policies for HIV/AIDS programs seeking federal money has generated a split among non-profit groups that counsel sex workers overseas," Reuters reports.

11 Apr 2013