Technology News and Research

RSS

Administration proposes additional funding for FDA for fiscal year (FY) 2009

HHS Secretary Leavitt today announced that the Administration is amending its budget request for fiscal year (FY) 2009 to include an additional $275 million for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). He called on Congress to act quickly on this budget amendment and pending Administration legislative proposals to strengthen FDA.

9 Jun 2008

Australia to enter the race to clone human embryo cells for stem-cell research

Melbourne's Monash University may be granted the first licence in Australia to clone human embryo cells for stem-cell research.

9 Jun 2008

House panel hearing focuses on health IT privacy, cost concerns

Lawmakers, patient-privacy and health care advocates, and information technology experts on Tuesday "debated ... how Congress can strike a balance between accelerating the adoption of a nationwide system of electronic medical records while protecting patient privacy," CongressDaily reports (Noyes, CongressDaily, 6/4).

8 Jun 2008

Senate Finance Committee hears testimony on health IT, quality of care, medical liability laws in preparation for major health system overhaul efforts next year

Lawmakers should not overstate the ability of health care information technology, quality improvement efforts and medical liability reform to reduce health care costs, Paul Ginsburg, president of the Center for Studying Health System Change, testified on Tuesday at a Senate Finance Committee hearing, CQ HealthBeat reports.

8 Jun 2008

Presumptive Democratic Presidential nominee Obama criticizes health care proposal of opponent McCain

Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) on Thursday during a rally at a Bristol, Va., high school said that the health care proposal of presumptive Republican nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) would not expand health insurance to all U.S. residents, the Washington Times reports.

8 Jun 2008

HHS releases comprehensive plan to encourage nationwide adoption of health IT

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology at HHS on Tuesday released a cross-agency directive to speed up the adoption of a nationwide health information technology system that would improve health care quality, increase efficiency, reduce medical errors and address concerns of patient privacy and data security, CQ HealthBeat reports.

8 Jun 2008

New invaluable tool in drug manufacture

Drug companies could save millions thanks to a new technology to monitor crystals as they form.

8 Jun 2008

New technique developed at UB for teaching math to preschoolers 'adds up'

A program designed by University at Buffalo researchers to increase mathematics achievement in pre-kindergarten students has proven successful in a large-scale study in Buffalo and Boston.

5 Jun 2008

New perspective on coronary disease thanks to ultrasound

Compared to other techniques, Intravascular Ultrasound (IVUS) is much better at monitoring the increase or decrease of atherosclerosis in the coronary arteries. Can the method even be used to predict the odds of a heart attack or other cardiovascular event? Studies indicate this may be the case, states Professor Clemens von Birgelen in his inaugural address at the University of Twente.

5 Jun 2008

Public funding impacts progress of human embryonic stem cell research

Bolstered by supportive policies and public research dollars, the United Kingdom, Israel, China, Singapore and Australia are producing unusually large shares of human embryonic stem cell research, according to a report from the Georgia Institute of Technology in the June 2008 issue Cell Stem Cell.

5 Jun 2008

Synthetic molecules developed by Hebrew University researchers hold promise for new family of anti-cancer drugs

Synthetic molecules designed by two Hebrew University of Jerusalem researchers have succeeded in reducing and even eliminating the growth of human malignant tissues in mice, while having no toxic effects on normal tissue.

4 Jun 2008

New Filton Blood Centre to open in July

When the new Filton Blood Centre opens on 8th July, the National Blood Service will be pleased to name it a centre of excellence and the largest blood processing centre in the world.

4 Jun 2008

BN ImmunoTherapeutics starts clinical trials with prostate cancer vaccine

BN ImmunoTherapeutics, Inc. has initiated Phase I/II clinical studies with its therapeutic vaccine candidate against prostate cancer.

4 Jun 2008

Health IT legislation stalled by privacy concerns

Legislation that would promote the adoption and standardization of health information technology is "knotted up" in Congress over privacy issues, CQ Today reports (Wayne, CQ Today, 6/2).

3 Jun 2008

Finance Committee staffers meet with stakeholders about Medicare physician cuts

Democratic staffers for the Senate Finance Committee on Monday met with physician specialty groups to discuss a legislative package proposed by committee Chair Max Baucus (D-Mont.) that would halt a scheduled 10.6% cut to Medicare physicians' payments and institute a 0.5% increase in the payments for next year, CongressDaily reports.

3 Jun 2008

Rep. Walberg touts market-based health care legislation in Washington Times op-ed

The "one-size-fits-all, Washington-based approach" to overhauling the U.S. health care system "is wrong" and, instead, reform should focus on providing a "patient-centered health care system that gives consumers direct control and choice over their health care decisions," Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.) writes in a Washington Times opinion piece.

3 Jun 2008

A genetic tool for cleaner water

A genetic tool used by medical researchers may also be used in a novel approach to remove harmful microbes and viruses from drinking water.

3 Jun 2008

Bacterial communities inside us can provide better understanding of health and disease

The number of bacteria living within the body of the average healthy adult human are estimated to outnumber human cells 10 to 1. Changes in these microbial communities may be responsible for digestive disorders, skin diseases, gum disease and even obesity.

3 Jun 2008

Skinvisible granted patent in Australia for polymer delivery system

Skinvisible, Inc. the developers of Invisicare, a polymer delivery system that enhances topically applied products, has been granted a comprehensive patent in Australia.

3 Jun 2008

Bavarian Nordic enters trials with prostate cancer vaccine

Bavarian Nordic's subsidiary, BN ImmunoTherapeutics has initiated Phase I/II clinical studies with its therapeutic vaccine candidate against prostate cancer.

3 Jun 2008