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Heroin is a very addictive chemical called diacetylmorphine. Heroin is a modified form of morphine, a highly abundant opium derived from the seedpods of the poppy plant.

Researchers find unusual mutation strongly linked to rare liver cancer that affects teens

In the race for better treatments and possible cures, rare diseases are often left behind. In a collaboration of researchers at The Rockefeller University, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and the New York Genome Center (NYGC), an unusual mutation has been found that is strongly linked to one such disease: a rare liver cancer that affects teens and young adults.

3 Mar 2014

Teen diagnosed with liver cancer explores genetic link to rare cancers

A father-daughter scientific collaboration that began after the daughter was diagnosed with a rare liver cancer has led to an important finding and could have broader implications for many other rare cancers. Their story is being published this week in a top tier journal, Science.

3 Mar 2014

Viewpoints: Questioning the tales of Obamacare woes; Republic replacement MIA; 'mixed messages' on mammograms

Conservatives appear to be really upset that liberals are actually taking on the facts in the anti-Obamacare ads they've been running. How dare you question whether the people in these ads are giving an accurate picture - they're suffering! (Paul Krugman, 2/26).

28 Feb 2014

New report reveals prevalence of heroin-related overdose deaths in Kentucky

A new report from the Kentucky Injury Prevention and Research Center (KIPRC) reveals the prevalence and charges associated with drug overdose in the Bluegrass state.

25 Feb 2014

Social/behavioral intervention strategies may help drug users avoid injection-related HCV, HIV infections

Despite a number of social/behavioral intervention and educational programs, the spread of hepatitis C (HCV) in people who inject drugs (PWIDs) remains a chronic problem.

24 Feb 2014

Highlights: Ky. malpractice bill; Texas punishes doc under abortion law; DOJ enters whistleblower case

A selection of health policy stories from Kentucky, Texas, Georgia, South Carolina, California, Colorado and Florida.

21 Feb 2014

Pairing school and home programs most effective in curbing teen prescription drug abuse

Programs that aim to curb teen prescription drug abuse have vastly differing effectiveness, ranging from big drops in drug abuse to no measurable effect, according to a new study of 11,000 teenagers by researchers at Duke and Pennsylvania State universities.

19 Feb 2014

Viewpoints: Parsing Obamacare numbers; experts on long-term care insurance; French cancer care

The monthly announcement of Obamacare's enrollment figures has become an exercise in confirmation bias, starting with the administration itself. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius noted the "encouraging trends" in yesterday's release, while House Speaker John Boehner opted to highlight its "embarrassing failures." ... The only debate worth having is how to improve enrollment. ... enrollment numbers for Obamacare aren't some referendum on the president's popularity or lack thereof. They're the best way to tell whether the law is working as planned -- and how to adjust if it isn't (2/13).

17 Feb 2014

Longer looks: Women's advantages in health law; health effects of the 'American Dream'

Every week reporter Ankita Rao selects interesting reading from around the Web.

14 Feb 2014

Viewpoints: The debate at AOL about a baby's medical costs; Gov. Jindal says economy's verdict on health law is not good

Late last week, Tim Armstrong, the chief executive officer of AOL, landed himself in a media firestorm when he held a town hall with employees to explain why he was paring their retirement benefits. After initially blaming Obamacare for driving up the company's health care costs, he pointed the finger at an unlikely target: babies. Specifically, my baby. ... ... She weighed 1 pound, 9 ounces. ... I take issue with how he reduced my daughter to a "distressed baby" who cost the company too much money. How he blamed the saving of her life for his decision to scale back employee benefits. How he exposed the most searing experience of our lives, one that my husband and I still struggle to discuss with anyone but each other, for no other purpose than an absurd justification for corporate cost-cutting (Deanna Fei, 2/9)

11 Feb 2014

Viewpoints: Health law distorting--or 'undistorting' the labor market; gas stations should follow CVS' lead; ways to fight heroin

On Wednesday, Douglas Elmendorf, the director of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, said the obvious: losing your job and choosing to work less aren't the same thing.

10 Feb 2014

New study analyses risk factors and mortality among heroin, cocaine consumers admitted to treatment

A new study analyses the risk factors and excess mortality among heroin and cocaine consumers admitted to treatment in Spain. The results reveal that the fatality rate among consumers of both drugs is 14.3 times higher than for the general population, while among those only using cocaine, it is 5.1 times higher.

10 Feb 2014

Loyola University toxicologist to talk about rise seen in heroin overdoses in recent years

In the wake of actor Philip Seymour Hoffman's death, Loyola University Health System toxicologist Christina Hantsch, MD, FACEP, FACMT, is available to talk about the rise she has seen in heroin overdoses in recent years.

7 Feb 2014

Viewpoints: CBO report on health law: Damaging the labor market or freeing workers from 'insurance trap'?

There are 7.8 million Americans working part-time who want full-time work, including a fry cook whose restaurant cut his hours to avoid Affordable Care Act mandates and confronted President Obama in an online Google Q&A last week: "We can't survive. It's not a living." Mr. Obama changed the subject to raising the minimum wage. But he can't dodge reality forever as the evidence piles up that ObamaCare is harming the labor market.

6 Feb 2014

Exposing adolescent to marijuana can lead to behavioral alterations in next generation

Exposing adolescent rats to THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) -the primary psychoactive ingredient in marijuana—can lead to molecular and behavioral alterations in the next generation of offspring, even though progeny were not directly exposed to the drug, researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have found.

23 Jan 2014

State highlights: Calif. Governor's budget to include $670M in new Medi-Cal spending; Mass. launches new electronic health records updates

When he unveils his new budget plan Thursday, Gov. Jerry Brown will propose billions of dollars in new spending on schools, health care, social services and environmental programs as California reaps the benefits of an economic turnaround. … The proposed budget includes $670 million more for Medi-Cal, the state's public health care program, which is expanding as part of President Obama's federal overhaul. The program is expected to serve a quarter of California's residents next year.

10 Jan 2014

First Edition: January 9, 2014

Today's headlines include reports about how the politics of the health law continue to play out on Capitol Hill.

9 Jan 2014

Nociceptin in brain naturally moderates effects of stress

Collaborating scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI), the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the University of Camerino in Italy have published new findings on a system in the brain that naturally moderates the effects of stress.

8 Jan 2014

Chemists able to trace narcotics substances, prescription drugs in Swedish wastewater

Chemists at Ume- University in Sweden have been able to trace narcotics substances and prescription drugs in measurements of wastewater from 33 Swedish sewage treatment plants. Cocaine, amphetamine, and methamphetamine, in measurable concentrations, were found in a total of half of the locations.

17 Dec 2013

Life events influence genes important for memory and drug use

New human and animal research released today demonstrates how experiences impact genes that influence behavior and health. Today's studies, presented at Neuroscience 2013, the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience and the world's largest source of emerging news about brain science and health, provide new insights into how experience might produce long-term brain changes in behaviors like drug addiction and memory formation.

13 Nov 2013