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Bill Gates puts hand in pocket and gives $70 million for research into tropical diseases

Bill Gates has once again put his money where his mouth is by donating almost U.S$70 million for research into fighting tropical diseases in the 'third world'.

18 Sep 2006

Industry using third parties to manage public concerns about genetic screening

The use of genetic tests to screen for inherited diseases is one of the most controversial applications of gene technologies.

13 Sep 2006

Prospect for passage of final health care IT bill uncertain

Negotiations to reconcile House and Senate versions of legislation that would promote the implementation of health care information technology have not progressed, and prospects for passage of a final bill prior to the midterm elections are uncertain, according to congressional aides, CongressDaily reports (Lee, CongressDaily, 9/12).

13 Sep 2006

Concerns that stem cell study could influence future embryonic stem cell legislation

Technique that could derive human embryonic stem cells without destroying human embryos, recently published in the journal Nature, could impede funding for stem cell research in this week's "Health on the Hill From kaisernetwork.org and CQ."

13 Sep 2006

WiCell and Advanced Cell Technology offer to distribute new stem cell lines

The WiCell Research Institute (WiCell) and Advanced Cell Technology announced today an agreement, in principle, to collaborate to jointly distribute to U.S. scientists a range of new cell lines.

12 Sep 2006

MIT device to detect and prevent epileptic seizures

Epilepsy affects about 50 million people worldwide, and while anticonvulsant medications can reduce the frequency of seizures, the drugs are ineffective for as many as one in three patients.

12 Sep 2006

'Plenty of time' to pass final health care IT Bill, Rep. Deal says

House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health Chair Nathan Deal (R-Ga.) on Thursday said Congress has "plenty of time" prior to midterm elections to pass legislation that would promote the implementation of health care information technology, CQ HealthBeat reports (Reichard, CQ HealthBeat, 9/7).

11 Sep 2006

N.Y. Gubernatorial candidates discuss health care plans

New York governor candidates last week discussed their plans for health care.

11 Sep 2006

SemBioSys Genetics granted immunoglobulin related patent

SemBioSys Genetics has announced it has been granted U.S. patent 7,098,383 entitled "Methods for the production of multimeric immunoglobulins, and related compositions".

11 Sep 2006

Sens. Specter, Harkin say 'hype' surrounding Nature study harms chances of expanding Federal stem cell funding

"Hype" surrounding a study published in the Aug. 24 edition of the journal Nature describing a technique that could derive human embryonic stem cells without destroying the embryo is harming chances of approving legislation to expand federal funding for embryonic stem cell research, CQ HealthBeat reports (Reichard, CQ HealthBeat, 9/6).

7 Sep 2006

Please go Tshabalala-Msimang!

HIV/AIDS advocates and scientists, including a U.S. Nobel laureate, on Tuesday in a letter to South African President Thabo Mbeki called for Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang to step down and protested the government's response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, the Wall Street Journal reports.

7 Sep 2006

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital learning from 9/11

With the nation's busiest burn center and the metropolitan area's largest hospital Emergency Medical Services (EMS) fleet, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital rescued and treated many survivors of the Sept. 11, 2001, attack on the World Trade Center.

7 Sep 2006

China appears to have beaten the world to a bird flu vaccine

Scientists in China have developed a potential vaccine against the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus currently sweeping across Asia.

7 Sep 2006

Some researchers question conclusion in Nature study that stem cells can be created without destroying embryos

Some human embryonic stem cell researchers recently have questioned whether methods used in a study published in the Aug. 24 edition of the journal Nature were sufficient to conclude that human embryonic stem cells could be created without destroying the embryo, the Wall Street Journal reports (Hamilton/Regalado, Wall Street Journal, 9/5).

6 Sep 2006

FDA releases draft guidelines regulating complex diagnostic tests

FDA on Tuesday released draft guidelines that assert the agency's authority for regulating gene- and protein-based diagnostic tests for conditions such as breast cancer and ovarian cancer, the Wall Street Journal reports.

6 Sep 2006

FDA approves limited use of artificial heart

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States has given approval for limited use of an artificial heart.

6 Sep 2006

Scientists develop magnetic nanoparticles for medicine

Magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles have already proven their utility for imaging metastatic breast cancer lesions in sentinel lymph nodes, and numerous groups are attempting to use iron nanoparticles in other imaging applications.

5 Sep 2006

FDA approves AbioCor permanent artificial heart for humanitarian uses

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved the first totally implanted artificial heart for patients with advanced heart failure involving both pumping chambers of the heart under the Humanitarian Use Device (HUD) provisions of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.

5 Sep 2006

Bush Administration, Republicans 'refuse' to acknowledge success of VA Health System

The Department of Veterans Affairs health care system "is a stunning success -- but the [Bush] administration and the Republicans in Congress refuse to build on that success because it doesn't reflect their conservative agenda," columnist Paul Krugman writes in a New York Times opinion piece.

5 Sep 2006

New York Times examines debate over preimplantation genetic diagnosis

The New York Times on Sunday examined the debate over preimplantation genetic diagnosis, a technique that allows physicians to identify embryos without genetic defects or chromosomal abnormalities and then implant the embryos most likely to result in a live, healthy infant.

5 Sep 2006