Research News and Research

RSS

DNA decoder – cheaper and faster

Life Technologies Corp. – a biotechnology company announced Tuesday that it has developed a machine to decode an individual's DNA in a day for just $1,000. The company said it was taking orders for the technology, which it expects to deliver in about a year. The Carlsbad, California, company said three major research institutions had already signed up for the $149,000 machine: the Baylor College of Medicine, the Yale School of Medicine and the Broad Institute of Cambridge, Massachusetts.

11 Jan 2012

Occasional marijuana use does not affect lung function: Study

A new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association has shown that an occasional drag on marijuana does not appear to have long-term adverse effects on lung function.

11 Jan 2012

Researchers analyze microorganisms in human gut as a complex, integrated biological system

For the first time, researchers have analyzed the multitude of microorganisms residing in the human gut as a complex, integrated biological system, rather than a set of separate species. Their approach has revealed patterns that correspond with excess body weight.

11 Jan 2012

Potential human health risk from illegal wildlife trade

An article released today in PLoS ONE entitled, Zoonotic Viruses Associated with Illegally Imported Wildlife Products, from a collaborative study led by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), identified evidence of retroviruses and herpesviruses in illegally imported wildlife products confiscated at several U.S. international airports, including John F. Kennedy International Airport, George Bush Intercontinental-Houston and Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International.

11 Jan 2012

Findings support 'medical home' movement to improve health outcomes

Greater access to features of high-quality primary care -- comprehensiveness, patient-centeredness and extended office hours -- is associated with lower mortality, according to a new national UC Davis study. Published in the January-February issue of the Annals of Family Medicine, the research is the first to link the availability of three specific attributes of primary care with reduced risk of death.

11 Jan 2012

Special issue on self-determining environmental justice for native America

How best to ensure environmental justice for Native Americans in terms of policy, governance, and activism on tribal lands? The broad range of issues, challenges, and possibilities are explored in an insightful and thought-provoking special issue of Environmental Justice entitled "Environmental Justice in Native America." Environmental Justice is a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.

11 Jan 2012

New online publication on wound care

The rapidly advancing field of tissue injury and repair has an important new forum. Advances in Wound Care will report the latest research findings, innovative wound care strategies, industry product pipeline, and developments in biomaterials and skin and tissue regeneration to optimize patient outcomes.

11 Jan 2012

Children with chronic sleep problems may develop mental health disorders later in life

Children who have chronic sleep problems may be much more likely to develop mental health disorders as adolescents and adults, according to Candice Alfano, associate professor in clinical psychology at the University of Houston (UH) and director of the new Sleep and Anxiety Center for Kids (SACK).

11 Jan 2012

Study finds home-visit program could keep diabetes patients out of the hospital

A special Medicare program that stresses home health visits for patients with chronic diseases helped keep diabetes patients out of the hospital and may have lowered costs using time-honored prevention methods, researchers reported on Monday.

11 Jan 2012

Restricting publication of H5N1 research 'more perilous' than threat of biological warfare

In this Reuters opinion piece, New York-based writer Peter Christian Hall responds to "the U.S. government's move to restrict publication of vital research into H5N1 avian flu," writing, "This unprecedented interference in the field of biology could hinder research and hamper responsiveness in distant lands plagued by H5N1," yet "no one seems to be challenging a key assumption -- that H5N1 could make a useful weapon. It wouldn't."

11 Jan 2012

First Edition: January 11, 2012

In today's headlines, the 26 states opposed to the health law have filed their Supreme Court arguments against the measure's Medicaid expansion.

11 Jan 2012

Virtual reality technology will advance rehabilitation research for cognitive and physical disabilities

Kessler Foundation and the University of Southern California (USC) Institute for Creative Technologies will collaborate on clinical research projects applying virtual reality technology to cognitive and motor rehabilitation research.

11 Jan 2012

Social media faster than traditional sources in tracking cholera in Haiti, study says

"Internet-based news and Twitter feeds were faster than traditional sources at detecting the onset and progression of the cholera epidemic in post-earthquake Haiti ..., according to a new study published in the January issue of the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (AJTMH)," an AJTMH press release states.

11 Jan 2012

Questions continue about the health law's future

CQ HealthBeat reports on the courses available for the law's implementation as stakeholders await the Supreme Court's rulings. Politico Pro reports that the recent denials by the Department of Health and Human Services regarding state medical-loss ratio adjustment requests is very different than earlier experiences.

11 Jan 2012

Swallowable endoscopic capsule may provide real time photographs of patient's insides

Researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) have successfully tested a controllable endoscopic capsule, inspired by science fiction, that has the ability to "swim" through the body and could provide clinicians with unprecedented control when photographing the inside of the human body.

11 Jan 2012

OMB Chief Jack Lew tapped as new White House chief of staff

Jack Lew will replace Bill Daley in the post later this month after work is completed on the 2013 budget. Democrats and progressives are cheering this Obama administration pick because he has a long record of protecting entitlement programs, especially Medicaid.

11 Jan 2012

Prevalence of cirrhosis may climb among older Americans

Older patients with cirrhosis have significant functional disability, require twice the amount of informal caregiving, and contribute added strain on the health care system, according to U-M research published in Hepatology.

11 Jan 2012

Study reveals need for improvements in decision-making process for breast cancer surgery patients

According to the results of a new study published in the January 2012 issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, many early-stage breast cancer survivors lacked knowledge about their disease and were not meaningfully involved in treatment discussions or asked their preferences regarding the approach to treatment.

11 Jan 2012

Study reveals trend in which US risks losing innovative young researchers

A new study by Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy illustrates a disconnect between government funding of biomedical research by young investigators and a novel standard by which to judge it: the Nobel Prize.

11 Jan 2012

Novel nanosensors can lead to fewer experiments on animals

Countless mice, rats and rabbits die every year in the name of science - and the situation is getting worse. While German laboratories used some 2.41 million animals for scientific research in 2005, by 2009 this number had grown to 2.79 million. One third were destined for fundamental biology research, and the majority were used for researching diseases and developing medical compounds and devices.

11 Jan 2012