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Researchers map how staph infections alter immune system

Infectious disease specialists at UT Southwestern Medical Center have mapped the gene profiles of children with severe Staphylococcus aureus infections, providing crucial insight into how the human immune system is programmed to respond to this pathogen and opening new doors for improved therapeutic interventions.

14 Jul 2009

Overcoming the big ‘nanotech’ challenges

Whether in the fields of medicine, sustainable energy supply or environmental protection, without making use of nanotechnology we will not be capable of overcoming the challenges which the future presents. In parallel with these efforts, though, it is essential that we examine the new technology very carefully for potential risks, such as those presented by free nanoparticles.

14 Jul 2009

Investigation finds problem nurses stay on job amid nursing shortage

A new market emerges for special end-of-life care that is inpatient and offers quiet rooms, home-like settings and high-tech alternatives.

14 Jul 2009

Philadelphia area increases inpatient hospice care

A new market emerges for special end-of-life care that is inpatient and offers quiet rooms, home-like settings and high-tech alternatives.

14 Jul 2009

Federal program cracks down on Medicare fraud in Houston

A federal program targets Medicare fraud in the Houston area as news of three cases representing at least $35 million in false claims emerged within the past week.

14 Jul 2009

Medical use for waste television screens

Waste material from discarded televisions could be recycled and used in medicine, according to new research by scientists at the University of York.

13 Jul 2009

Novel drug discovery tool could bring new therapies for Parkinson’s

Researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health have turned simple baker?s yeast into a virtual army of medicinal chemists capable of rapidly searching for drugs to treat Parkinson's disease.

13 Jul 2009

Too many Australians abusing prescription drugs

The demise of yet another pop icon from the use and abuse of pharmaceutical drugs has again put the spotlight on an increasing addiction to prescription medication among the general public.

13 Jul 2009

President Obama to visit Ghana Friday - major policy statement

IRIN reports that Ghanaians "are mixing high hopes with caution" in anticipation of President Obama's arrival in the country Friday – "his first visit to sub-Saharan Africa." Obama is expected to "make a major policy statement," according to IRIN. The article looks back at some of the commitments that former Presidents Bush and Clinton previously made to Africa (7/8).

9 Jul 2009

Many breast cancer patients being kept in the dark on breast reconstruction

Despite the increase of breast reconstruction procedures performed in 2008, nearly 70 percent of women who are eligible for the procedure are not informed of the reconstructive options available to them, according to a recently published report.

7 Jul 2009

Combining two common medical tests provides new way to screen for serious kidney disease

The combination of two common medical tests can improve a doctor's ability to predict which patients will develop serious kidney disease, a research team led by the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) reports in a recent issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

7 Jul 2009

Identification of cholesterol regulating genes by targeted RNAi-screening

Scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and the University of Heidelberg, Germany, have come a step closer to understanding how cholesterol levels are regulated. In a study published today in the journal Cell Metabolism, the researchers identified 20 genes that are involved in this process. Besides giving scientists a better idea of where to look to uncover the mechanisms that ensure cholesterol balance is maintained, the discovery could lead to new treatments for cholesterol-related diseases.

7 Jul 2009

Tiny heart catheter pump with air propulsion

A tiny heart catheter pump which supports the human heart in critical conditions while pumping has been developed at the Vienna University of Technology (TU Vienna).

7 Jul 2009

Scientists step closer to first artificial nerve cell

Scientists at the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet and Linköping University are well on the way to creating the first artificial nerve cell that can communicate specifically with nerve cells in the body using neurotransmitters. The technology has been published in an article in Nature Materials.

7 Jul 2009

Shire files treatment protocol for Velaglucerase Alfa for Gaucher’s disease

Shire plc has announced that, at the request of the FDA, in view of a potential restriction on the availability of the current approved and marketed treatment for Gaucher’s disease patients, it has filed a treatment protocol for velaglucerase alfa, its enzyme replacement therapy in development for the treatment of Gaucher’s disease.

7 Jul 2009

Research pinpoints antibodies that may prevent Alzheimer's

Antibodies to a wide range of substances that can aggregate to form plaques, such as those found in Alzheimer's patients, have been identified in the blood and cerebrospinal fluid of healthy people. Levels of these antibodies decline with age and, in Alzheimer's patients, with increasing progression of the disease.

6 Jul 2009

Acoustics help blind people see the world

The EU-funded CASBLiP project was conceived to integrate the image processing and acoustic mapping technologies into a single, portable device that could be worn by blind people and help them to navigate outdoors.

5 Jul 2009

European research project focusing on quality and patient safety in hospitals

A research project focusing on quality and patient safety in hospitals has been offered €3 million from the European Commission's 7th Framework Programme - Health. The Jönköping Academy for Improvement of Health and Welfare is one of six collaborating project partners.

5 Jul 2009

Bioethicists lead call for public debates on future uses of stem cells

More than 40 scientists, bioethicists, lawyers and science journal editors are calling on their colleagues, policy makers and the public to begin developing guidelines for the research and reproductive use of stem cell-derived eggs and sperm, even though such use may be a decade or more away.

2 Jul 2009

New peripherally inserted central catheter mimics nature

A novel coating being used on a new peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) from r4 Vascular mimics the cell layer found on natural tissue surfaces.

30 Jun 2009