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America's Health Insurance Plans launches campaign in Ohio for nationwide universal health

America's Health Insurance Plans on Tuesday launched a new grassroots campaign designed "to build support for workable health care reform based on core principles shared by the American people: coverage, affordability, quality, value, choice and portability," the organization said, CQ HealthBeat reports.

24 Jul 2008

Rep. Boustany introduces legislation that would require states to report on SCHIP enrollment, outreach efforts

Rep. Charles Boustany (R-La.) last week introduced a bill (HR 6506) that would require all states to submit annual reports on SCHIP enrollment, CQ HealthBeat reports.

22 Jul 2008

Genetic mechanisms at play in blood cells important in Parkinson’s disease

What does the genetics of blood cells have to do with brain cells related to Parkinson's disease? From an unusual collaboration of neurologists and a pharmacologist comes the surprising answer: Genetic mechanisms at play in blood cells also control a gene and protein that cause Parkinson's disease.

21 Jul 2008

Discover of key patterns in gene packaging

Although every cell of our bodies contains the same genetic instructions, specific genes typically act only in specific cells at particular times. Other genes are "silenced" in a variety of ways. One mode of gene silencing depends upon the way DNA, the genetic material, is packed in the nucleus of cells.

13 Jul 2008

A micro-sized sewing machine for DNA

Japanese scientists have made a micro-sized sewing machine to sew long threads of DNA into shape. The work published in the Royal Society of Chemistry journal Lab on a Chip demonstrates a unique way to manipulate delicate DNA chains without breaking them.

10 Jul 2008

Circulating tumor cells can reveal genetic signature of dangerous lung cancers

Using a miniature laboratory-on-a-chip device, a team of investigators at the Massachusetts General Hospital, led by Daniel Haber, M.D., Ph.D., and Mehmet Toner, Ph.D., both members of the MIT-Harvard Center for Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence (CCNE), has developed a method that detects and analyzes the genetic signature of rare tumor cells in the bloodstream.

9 Jul 2008

Microchip-based device determines the genetic signature of lung tumors

Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators have shown that an MGH-developed, microchip-based device that detects and analyzes tumor cells in the bloodstream can be used to determine the genetic signature of lung tumors, allowing identification of those appropriate for targeted treatment and monitoring genetic changes that occur during therapy. A pilot study of the device called the CTC-chip will appear in the July 24 New England Journal of Medicine and is receiving early online release.

3 Jul 2008

Disease-detecting lab-on-a-chip

Detecting food-borne diseases such as campylobacter and salmonella long before they enter the food chain would help ensure that the dinner on your table is safe to eat.

1 Jul 2008

Senate panel approves $153.1 billion for discretionary spending in labor-HHS-education bill for FY 2009

The Senate Appropriations Labor, HHS, Education and Related Agencies Subcommittee on Tuesday by voice vote approved a $631 billion fiscal year 2009 Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill, CQ Today reports.

26 Jun 2008

Montana measure to expand SCHIP, Medicaid eligibility to be included on November ballot

Montana State Auditor John Morrison on Tuesday said an initiative to expand SCHIP and Medicaid coverage to as many as 30,000 additional uninsured children will be placed on the state's November ballot, the Missoulian reports.

24 Jun 2008

Researchers develop brain-machine interfaces that learn with the brain

Devices known as brain-machine interfaces could someday be used routinely to help paralyzed patients and amputees control prosthetic limbs with just their thoughts. Now, University of Florida researchers have taken the concept a step further, devising a way for computerized devices not only to translate brain signals into movement but also to evolve with the brain as it learns.

24 Jun 2008

Precision control of DNA separation using an electric field

An electric voltage can be used to propel DNA molecules through a channel a few nanometers deep, or to stop them in their tracks. In a strong electric field the molecules judder along the channel, while in weaker fields they move more smoothly. This enables DNA fragments to be 'captured' on a chip and separated for analysis.

24 Jun 2008

Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report rounds up health news from the campaign trail

Fifty-three percent of U.S. adults trust presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) more than presumptive Republican nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) to address the issue of health care, compared with 33% who trust McCain more than Obama to address the issue, according to a recent Washington Post-ABC News poll, the Post reports.

17 Jun 2008

Colorado SCHIP classified 10% of beneficiaries incorrectly

Colorado auditors on Monday said that Children's Health Plan Plus, the state's version of SCHIP, incorrectly classified 10% of beneficiaries, the Denver Rocky Mountain News reports.

17 Jun 2008

Colorado SCHIP classified 10% of beneficiaries incorrectly, according to state auditors

Colorado auditors on Monday said that Children's Health Plan Plus, the state's version of SCHIP, incorrectly classified 10% of beneficiaries, the Denver Rocky Mountain News reports.

11 Jun 2008

Congressional Democrats move to impose new limits on specialty hospitals

The New York Times on Sunday examined how Democrats -- who for years "have been trying to stop the proliferation of doctor-owned hospitals in the belief that they drive up costs by encouraging doctors to order more procedures" -- have moved to "impose new restrictions on these for-profit hospitals" as part of a Senate supplemental war appropriations bill, although they have "carved out exemptions for a few institutions represented by influential senators and well-connected lobbyists."

10 Jun 2008

Kansas Health Institute News Service examines prospects for expanding health coverage in state

The Kansas Health Institute News Service on Monday in a series of articles examined prospects for expanding health coverage in Kansas this year.

8 Jun 2008

Colorado Gov. Ritter signs 11 health care bills to increase access, expand coverage

Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter (D) on Tuesday signed into law 11 health care bills, including measures to expand coverage requirements and increase children's access to care, the AP/Denver Post reports.

8 Jun 2008

Measuring the footprint of cells

Even the slightest differences are important in competitive sport: To improve a ski jumper's performance, the trainer can analyze the jump very accurately using force sensors.

8 Jun 2008

Majority of U.S. House supports repeal of Medicare therapy caps

With about one month to go before the current exceptions process for clinically based care above the Medicare therapy caps expires, a majority of the U.S. House of Representatives has endorsed legislation to repeal the arbitrary financial limit on therapy benefits.

5 Jun 2008