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NPR examines Obama administration's global family planning policies

NPR's "Morning Edition" examines how global family planning fits into the Obama administration's global health policy. "The administration has already restored funding for the United Nations Population ... Fund, which for eight years received no U.S. support. And in his first week, President Obama lifted an executive order that existed in the Reagan and Bush administrations that prohibited U.S.-funded programs from providing information about abortion services," according to NPR.

4 Feb 2010

MedQuist to acquire Spheris' domestic business

MedQuist Inc., a leading provider of medical transcription software and services, today announced that it has agreed to purchase the domestic business of Spheris Inc., a global provider of clinical documentation technology and services that recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

4 Feb 2010

Negative perceptions of speech patterns create social barriers for Parkinson's patients

People with Parkinson's disease suffer social difficulties simply because of the way they talk, a McGill University researcher has discovered. Marc Pell, at McGill's School of Communication Sciences and Disorders, has learned that many people develop negative impressions about individuals with Parkinson's disease, based solely on how they communicate.

3 Feb 2010

Research suggests growth factor gene plays a central role in palate development

Cleft palate has been linked to dozens of genes. During their investigation of one of these genes, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis were surprised to find that cleft palate occurs both when the gene is more active and when it is less active than normal.

3 Feb 2010

Researchers explore how brain circuitry and learning changes over time

New research shows our brains are a lot more chaotic than previously thought, and that this might be a good thing. Neurobiologists at the University of Maryland have discovered information about how the brain processes sound that challenges previous understandings of the auditory cortex, which had suggested an organization based on precise neuronal maps.

2 Feb 2010

MEND Program: Effective treatment for pediatric obesity

Ground-breaking results from a study to evaluate the effectiveness of the MEND Program (Mind, Exercise, Nutrition, Do it!), a multi-component community-based childhood obesity intervention (www.mendcentral.org), are published today in the US journal Obesity (www.nature.com/oby/journal/v18/n1s/abs/oby2009433a.html). The results coincide with the launch of Michelle Obama's initiative to reduce childhood obesity announced in the State of the Union speech.

2 Feb 2010

Campbell government cuts EIBI program for ASD children

On Friday, B.C.'s last centre offering intensive autism treatment for children under 6 closed its doors. The provincial government had cancelled all funding, eliminated 42 jobs and cut adrift all the children currently being treated and all those on the waiting list.

2 Feb 2010

Cochlear implantation enables quality of life equal to normal hearing peers

Children who have cochlear implants (CI) rank their quality of life (QOL) equal to their normally hearing (NH) peers, indicates new research in the February 2010 issue of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery.

1 Feb 2010

At World Economic Forum, Gates Foundation announces 10-year, $10B vaccine commitment

Bill and Melinda Gates announced Friday during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that their foundation would commit $10 billion over the next decade to research, develop and deliver vaccines for the world's poorest countries, the New York Times reports (McNeil, 1/29). The Gateses "said they hope the commitment would spur support by governments, corporations, and other donors for vaccinations efforts," the Chronicle of Philanthropy writes (Wilhelm, 1/29).

30 Jan 2010

Pelosi, Reid search for health reform's forward path

Legislative leaders in search of momentum on health reform "conceded that they did not have an immediate strategy for advancing a health care measure and described their time frame as open-ended," The New York Times reports.

30 Jan 2010

Health bill - 'on life support' - continues to highlight political divides

President Obama's State of the Union speech has so far failed to unite Democrats on a health reform strategy as they "stared down a political nightmare," The Associated Press reports.

29 Jan 2010

Democrats offer varying views on health overhaul's fate

NPR interviewed House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., to get his reactions to the President's Wednesday night speech.

29 Jan 2010

First Edition: January 29, 2010

Today's news highlights the Democrats' continuing struggle to find a way forward on health reform.

29 Jan 2010

Patients with hearing, vision and speech disabilities to be provided with auxiliary aids and services

Patients with hearing, vision, and speech disabilities, who receive care at University of Utah Hospitals & Clinics, will be screened and provided with auxiliary aids and services as required by federal law under a Resolution Agreement reached with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

29 Jan 2010

New Jersey surgeons perform multi-process procedure for spinal cord injuries

The Plastic Surgery Center today announced that in a highly rare procedure for spinal cord injuries, a New Jersey medical team led by Dr. Matthew Kaufman enabled a 51-year-old man to breathe on his own - without a ventilator - for the first time since becoming paralyzed.

29 Jan 2010

Obama appeals for health reform despite recent setbacks

The New York Times reports that "after spending 2009 emphasizing that a health care overhaul was his top domestic priority, Mr. Obama gave it much less prominence in his [State of the Union] address. He did not mention it until more than half an hour in — a sign of how imperiled the bill has become."

29 Jan 2010

Mcdonnell says Democratic agenda, including health care effort, is too expensive

In his response to President Barack Obama's State of the Union address, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell said the nation cannot afford the Democratic agenda, including health care, The Associated Press/Wall Street Journal reports.

28 Jan 2010

Haitian President asks for better aid coordination, tents, jobs

Haitian President Rene Preval said the country is in need of sturdy tents and jobs to prevent an ongoing crisis, the Miami Herald reports. At a press conference, Preval said, "Help the people with tents. Create employment so people can buy food in the country. That is what's most important."

28 Jan 2010

Transcend Services announces unaudited financial results for fourth-quarter of 2009

TRANSCEND SERVICES, INC., a leading provider of medical transcription services to the U.S. healthcare market, today announced its unaudited financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2009.

28 Jan 2010