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Report shows PA hospitals national leaders in health IT adoption, investment

Despite high barriers, Pennsylvania's hospitals have established a leadership position in the adoption of health information technology (IT) as compared to their peers nationwide.

28 Aug 2007

Migration of antibiotic resistance from animal feeding operations into groundwater

The routine use of antibiotics in swine production can have unintended consequences, with antibiotic resistance genes sometimes leaking from waste lagoons into groundwater.

22 Aug 2007

Sewage reveals community-wide illegal drug use

Public health officials may soon be able to flush out more accurate estimates on illegal drug use in communities across the country thanks to screening test described at the 234 th national meeting of the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society.

22 Aug 2007

New food allergy law in New York

The Food Allergy Initiative (FAI) has announced that Governor Eliot Spitzer has signed into law the Allergy & Anaphylaxis Management Act of 2007 (AAMA; A.4051), landmark legislation that will help protect New York schoolchildren who suffer from life-threatening food allergies.

17 Aug 2007

Killer T cell treatment shows promise against cancers in transplant patients

Blood cell donations could be used to treat transplant patients with a particular form of cancer, according to a Cancer Research UK study reported in the journal Blood.

15 Aug 2007

Authorities accused of a cover-up in British foot and mouth scare

The British government has been accused of a cover-up over the foot and mouth outbreak in a research site which houses the government-backed Institute for Animal Health.

14 Aug 2007

Neuregulin 1 gene linked to schizophrenia

Scientists have provided new insight into how a gene is related to schizophrenia.

12 Aug 2007

Kenyan takes aggressive stance against tobacco

Providing important leadership in Africa for reducing tobacco use and its deadly consequences, the Kenyan Parliament has passed the national Tobacco Control Act, which bans tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship, increases cigarette taxes and takes other strong steps to reduce tobacco use.

12 Aug 2007

Chromatin remodeling complex connected to DNA damage control

When molecular disaster strikes, causing structural damage to DNA, players in two important pathways talk to each other to help contain the wreckage, scientists at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center report in the August edition of Cell.

12 Aug 2007

Smokeless tobacco products are not safe

It may not be inhaled into the lungs, but smokeless tobacco exposes users to some of the same potent carcinogens as cigarettes.

11 Aug 2007

Why young adults become uninsured and how new policies can help

Since 2003, 16 states have enacted legislation requiring insurance companies to provide health insurance coverage to dependent young adults on their parents, health plans beyond age 18 or 19, according to a new report from the Commonwealth Fund.

9 Aug 2007

Congress takes major step toward equitable payment for nurse-midwifery services

On Wednesday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the "Children's Health and Medicare Protection Act of 2007 (CHAMP)" (H.R.3162), which expands health care coverage to pregnant women and their children and addresses a long-standing inequity in reimbursement for services of certified nurse-midwives (CNMs).

7 Aug 2007

India rejects Novartis' drug patent claim

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), which operates free AIDS treatment clinics in India (Mysore, New Delhi and in Guwahati, Assam in collaboration with the National AIDS Control Organization) has applauded the news that an Indian court rejected a legal challenge mounted by the Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis to a portion of India's Patent Act that restricts certain kinds of patents, a ruling that will protect access to affordable medicines in the developing world.

7 Aug 2007

Life around newborn discharge

A landmark nationwide study, published in the journal Pediatrics, is the first ever to prospectively examine the decision-making process of over 4,000 mothers and their physicians around the readiness of mothers and their infants to leave the hospital after childbirth.

6 Aug 2007

FDA, DoD collaborate on regulated drugs, biologics, and medical devices

Data from the U.S. Military Health System will soon help the U.S. Food and Drug Administration make decisions affecting the safety and use of FDA-regulated products for all Americans.

3 Aug 2007

Vaccines approved by the FDA are at least a million times safer than the viruses that they prevent

For more than 200 years, vaccines have played an important role in the prevention of infectious diseases.

2 Aug 2007

Three million seniors could lose their Medicare Advantage coverage

Three million seniors could lose their Medicare Advantage coverage, while millions more would face benefit cuts and higher out-of-pocket health care costs under legislation passed today by the U.S. House of Representatives.

1 Aug 2007

Test scores were stronger before 'No Child Left Behind' was approved in 2002

As Congress reviews federal efforts to boost student performance, new research published in Educational Researcher (ER) reports that progress in raising test scores was stronger before No Child Left Behind was approved in 2002, compared with the four years following enactment of the law.

1 Aug 2007

QIAGEN acquires Digene

QIAGEN completed the acquisition through a tender offer and subsequent merger of Digene with and into a wholly owned subsidiary of QIAGEN. At the completion of the merger, Digene will become a wholly owned subsidiary of QIAGEN's affiliate QIAGEN North American Holdings, Inc.

From QIAGEN Manchester Limited 1 Aug 2007

Limiting and labeling trans fats in food is not enough

...according to Walter Willett, an epidemiologist and nutrition professor at the Harvard School of Public Health, who argues to food manufacturers that they should be banned altogether.

1 Aug 2007