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SNP array's snapshot of Anopheles gambiae genome can help eliminate malaria

The development and first use of a high-density SNP array for the malaria vector mosquito have established 400,000 genetic markers capable of revealing new insights into how the insect adapts to outsmart insecticides and other preventive measures, according to findings published in the current edition of the journal Science.

26 Oct 2010

Chemoradiotherapy can reduce bladder cancer recurrence

A major bladder cancer trial, funded by Cancer Research UK, has shown that adding two commonly used chemotherapy drugs to traditional radiotherapy can reduce the chance of a patient's tumour coming back by a third.

26 Oct 2010

Smokers with anxiety disorders less likely to quit smoking

Researchers may have pinpointed a reason many smokers struggle to quit. According to new research published in the journal Addiction, smokers with a history of anxiety disorders are less likely to quit smoking. The study, conducted by the University of Wisconsin Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention (UW-CTRI), offered free coaching and medications to smokers in Madison and Milwaukee.

26 Oct 2010

To reach MDGs, citizens must demand more from political leaders, former U.N. Secretary-General tells U.N. Foundation board meeting

At a U.N. Foundation board meeting in Ghana to discuss Millennium Development Goal progress, which concluded on Saturday, former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan "called on the citizenry to demand the attainment of these set goals from their political leaders," the Accra Mail reports. "It is only through this that we can put pressure on the politician to work towards achieving these goals," he said, according to the newspaper.

26 Oct 2010

Pathogenic listeria tricks intestinal cells to cause sickness

Pathogenic listeria tricks intestinal cells into helping it pass through those cells to make people ill, and, if that doesn't work, the bacteria simply goes around the cells, according to a Purdue University study.

26 Oct 2010

Medicare plan choices attract attention as open enrollment approaches

Officials at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services say they have taken steps to streamline this year's plan options for private Medicare plans, including Part D, the prescription drug plan including eliminating some plans they consider duplicative.

26 Oct 2010

Panasonic completes investment in CardioNexus

Panasonic Corporation of North America has completed an investment in CardioNexus Corporation, a portfolio company of Houston's Fairway Medical Technologies which works closely with the Texas Medical Center. The move is part of Panasonic's plans to establish itself as a global leader in Personalized Preventive Medicine. The investment follows on an earlier Panasonic initiative to establish a presence in the world's largest medical complex, the Texas Medical Center based in Houston.

From PHC Europe B.V. 26 Oct 2010

New feature on SciVerse ScienceDirect presents proteins in three dimensions

Elsevier, a world-leading publisher of scientific, medical and technical products and services, introduces Protein Viewer, a new, interactive feature on SciVerse ScienceDirect for the Journal of Molecular Biology (JMB). With Protein Viewer, readers of JMB now have the power to expand and rotate molecules within the actual article. SciVerse ScienceDirect merges features of the World Protein Database and Jmol, and embeds them into the article, making its use more convenient and user-friendly.

26 Oct 2010

PhRMA representatives meet with officials in India to discuss compulsory licensing

During a visit with government officials, industry leaders and NGOs in India last week, representatives from Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), a U.S. lobbying group that represents the country's pharmaceutical industry and biotechnology companies, addressed "the Indian government's proposal to allow local drugmakers to make low-cost version of patented drugs so that they can be made available to patients," the Economic Times reports.

26 Oct 2010

Maven Semantic updates Lymphocyte Cell Biology research database

Maven Semantic announces updates to their Lymphocyte Cell Biology research database. The new database is now available to marketing, business development, competitor intelligence, KOL, medical affairs and related departments in the life sciences sector.

26 Oct 2010

Aspirin reduces risk of death from prostate cancer

Men with prostate cancer who take anticoagulants like aspirin in addition to radiation therapy or surgery may be able to cut their risk of dying of the disease by more than half, according to a large study presented on November 3, 2010, at the 52nd Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) in San Diego. The study involved more than 5,000 men with localized cancer whose disease had not spread beyond the prostate gland.

26 Oct 2010

Health politics: Obama challenges GOP on health law; insurers backing republicans; Democrat Manchin opposes law

In an interview with President Barack Obama, The National Journal asked about the GOP agenda, including repealing the health law. What is clear to me is that in the abstract, everybody on the Republican side is for repeal, Obama said.

26 Oct 2010

ARIAD's oral ridaforolimus improves PFS in patients with metastatic endometrial cancer

Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced interim results of a randomized, open‐label, active-control multicenter Phase 2 study of oral ridaforolimus, an investigational mTOR inhibitor, in patients with metastatic or recurrent endometrial cancer. Based on this interim analysis, the study demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in the primary endpoint of median progression-free survival (PFS) in patients receiving single-agent ridaforolimus compared to patients receiving standard-of-care treatment.

26 Oct 2010

Future geriatric care should focus on systems, not technology, say nurses

The most important advances in geriatric care, say gerontological nurse researchers and practitioners, are not new technologies and procedures but changes in thinking about older patients.

26 Oct 2010

In India, major reduction seen in polio since 2009, WHO says on World Polio Day

There has been a significant reduction in the number of polio cases diagnosed in India this year compared with the same time last year, the WHO said on World Polio Day Sunday, IANS/Sify News reports.

26 Oct 2010

Dual antiplatelet therapy study expanded into Australia and New Zealand

The Harvard Clinical Research Institute (HCRI) announced today that the DAPT Study has expanded into Australia and New Zealand. Professor Ian Meredith, MBBS, Ph.D., interventional cardiologist at MonashHeart in Melbourne, Australia and National Coordinating Investigator for the DAPT Study in Australia, was the first Pacific Rim investigator to enroll patients into the study.

26 Oct 2010

Michigan hospitals focus on ERs for seniors; GA. voters consider funding new trauma centers

Some hospitals in Michigan seek to address the unique needs of senior patients, including the use of specially designed emergency rooms, while voters in Georgia consider new fees to help improve trauma units.

26 Oct 2010

Doctors, nurses and urgent care centers address increasing demand

The (Lynchburg, Va.) News and Advance reports on doctor shortages in Virginia: "Attracting more physicians to the area, and keeping them, is a challenge that has become more urgent. So much so that Centra is in the midst of creating a formal Physician Recruiting Office, where staff will work to convince physicians to consider coming to Lynchburg for their residency or to practice.

26 Oct 2010

Calif. budget comes in the nick of time for health centers; LA. Gov. announces cuts in health care funding

With some California community health centers just weeks or days away from laying off staff or reducing their hours, the state adopted its latest-ever annual budget on Oct. 8.

26 Oct 2010

Researchers investigate impact of fungal toxin on birth defects

A Creighton University School of Medicine researcher has been awarded a $2.7 million grant by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to investigate a possible link between the ingestion of tortillas and corn-based food products contaminated with a fungal toxin and increased risk for birth defects.

26 Oct 2010