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Brain activity rapidly changes in olfactory regions following odor deprivation

Has a summer cold or mold allergy stuffed up your nose and dampened your sense of smell? We take it for granted that once our nostrils clear, our sniffers will dependably rebound and alert us to a lurking neighborhood skunk or a caramel corn shop ahead. That dependability is no accident. It turns out the brain is working overtime behind the scenes to make sure the sense of smell is just as sharp after the nose recovers.

13 Aug 2012

PharmAthene receives clinical hold order from FDA for SparVax rPA anthrax vaccine program

PharmAthene, Inc., a biodefense company developing medical countermeasures against biological and chemical threats, announced today it has received notification from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that its SparVax rPA anthrax vaccine program has been placed on clinical hold.

12 Aug 2012

U.S. visa policies kept sex workers, drug users from participating in AIDS 2012

The Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog examines how the "U.S. travel bans on people involved in sex work and people who have used illegal drugs ... kept many of the people at highest risk from coming to the [XIX International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2012)]" in Washington, D.C., last month. "

10 Aug 2012

Breakthrough vaccine against deadly Nipah virus

A major breakthrough in the development of a highly effective vaccine against the deadly Nipah virus has been reported by a team of federal and university scientists. The results of their study, "A Hendra virus G glycoprotein subunit vaccine protects African green monkeys from Nipah virus challenge," will appear in Science Translational Medicine online.

10 Aug 2012

New life for forgotten technique in detecting resistant tuberculosis

Scientists of the Antwerp Institute of Tropical Medicine have breathed new life into a forgotten technique and so succeeded in detecting resistant tuberculosis in circumstances where so far this was hardly feasible. Tuberculosis bacilli that have become resistant against our major antibiotics are a serious threat to world health.

10 Aug 2012

South Africa to become first PEPFAR country to 'nationalize' AIDS program

"U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said during a visit to South Africa that Pretoria will begin taking more of the responsibilities for its HIV/AIDS program, part of a broader effort to overhaul the U.S. global plan for AIDS relief launched under former President George W. Bush," Reuters reports.

9 Aug 2012

Syrians in urgent need of life-saving medicines as fighting escalates, WHO warns

"Syrians are in urgent need of life-saving medicines following an escalation in fighting, which also threatens further food shortages, U.N. agencies warned on Tuesday," Agence France-Presse reports.

9 Aug 2012

Link between chronic exposure to staph bacteria and risk of lupus

Chronic exposure to even small amounts of staph bacteria could be a risk factor for the chronic inflammatory disease lupus, Mayo Clinic research shows. Staph, short for Staphylococcus aureus, is a germ commonly found on the skin or in the nose, sometimes causing infections.

9 Aug 2012

New HIV test helps researchers determine incidence, whether prevention strategies work

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has developed a new HIV test, called the Limiting Antigen Avidity Enzyme Immunoassay, that can tell whether a person contracted the virus within the last 141 days, "hugely important information for researchers, who need to know whether fewer people are becoming newly infected with HIV to determine whether a prevention program is working," the Wall Street Journal's "Health Blog" reports.

9 Aug 2012

President's Malaria Initiative contributing to 'major progress' against disease, should be expanded

In this post in The Hill's "Congress Blog," Kent Campbell, director of the Malaria Control Program at PATH, and Jonathon Simon, chair of the Department of International Health and director of the Center for Global Health and Development at the Boston University School of Public Health, write that "major progress has been made in the fight against malaria, thanks in large part to the efforts of the President's Malaria Initiative (PMI)," and call the effort "a shining example of the profound impact the U.S. is making in global health."

9 Aug 2012

New method gives precise picture of how immune system works

Chronic infections are a large and growing problem throughout the developed world, and intensive research is being conducted in ways to combat the recalcitrant bacteria. When bacteria aggregate into so-called biofilm, they become resistant to antibiotics. Until now scientists have only been able to speculate about what happens when bacteria overpower the immune system during a chronic infection.

9 Aug 2012

University of Nevada researcher to optimize new rapid test for melioidosis

A new rapid test to diagnose melioidosis, a difficult infection to treat - and classified as a biothreat by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - is being optimized and tested by University of Nevada School of Medicine researcher David AuCoin.

9 Aug 2012

Covalon’s IV Clear antimicrobial clear silicone dressing to be presented at FIME 2012

Covalon Technologies Ltd., an advanced medical technologies company, today announced that it is presenting its latest breakthrough antimicrobial products, including the recently United States FDA cleared IV Clear at the 2012 FIME International Medical Expo from August 8 to 10 in Miami Beach, Florida.

9 Aug 2012

Pathologist identifies HPV DNA fragments in post-mortem samples after Gardasil vaccination

According to Norma Erickson, President of SaneVax Inc., testimony provided for a coroner's inquest into the death of Jasmine Renata in New Zealand by Dr. Sin Hang Lee, a pathologist on the medical staff at Connecticut's Milford Hospital, revealed the discovery of HPV DNA fragments in post-mortem samples 6 months after Gardasil vaccination.

9 Aug 2012

Drug companies developing novel treatments for MDR-TB

With incentives to find new antibiotics signed into U.S. law last month, "multiple players are vying for the lead in the [multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB)] drug development niche," Nature Medicine reports.

8 Aug 2012

UAB program helps reduce incidence of HIV/AIDS in the U.S.

In the year since the University of Alabama at Birmingham emergency department began offering HIV screening for all patients ages 19-64, doctors say 20,000 tests were performed and 72 cases of HIV infection were diagnosed.

8 Aug 2012

Malawi launches week-long campaign to test 250,000 people for HIV

"Malawi on Monday launched a week-long campaign to test 250,000 people for HIV in what health authorities called a crucial intervention in a country ravaged by AIDS," Agence France-Presse reports.

8 Aug 2012

Melinda Gates dedicates Tällberg Foundation prize money to Rotary International

"The global effort to eradicate polio received a SEK 1 million [about $150,000] boost today as Melinda Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, dedicated the monetary award she accepted from the Tällberg Foundation to Rotary International -- a humanitarian service organization that has made a polio-free world its top priority," according to a Gates Foundation press release.

8 Aug 2012

Clinton discusses global HIV efforts with South African officials during 11-day African tour

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Tuesday visited officials in South Africa and discussed the response to HIV/AIDS, the Associated Press/Huffington Post reports. Speaking with Foreign Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane "in the second cabinet-level strategic dialogue between the two nations," Clinton said "that global efforts to stop the virus 'have saved hundreds of thousands of lives,'" the news service writes.

8 Aug 2012

Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement could restrict access to affordable, life-saving drugs

In this post in the PLoS "Speaking of Medicine" blog, Judit Rius Sanjuan, a lawyer from Barcelona, Spain, and the U.S. manager of the Access Campaign at Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), says the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a regional trade agreement that currently involves 11 countries but is slated for further expansion across the Asia-Pacific region, is threatening the prospects for an AIDS-free generation.

8 Aug 2012

Disease/Infection News

Brain activity rapidly changes in olfactory regions following odor deprivation

PharmAthene receives clinical hold order from FDA for SparVax rPA anthrax vaccine program

U.S. visa policies kept sex workers, drug users from participating in AIDS 2012

Breakthrough vaccine against deadly Nipah virus

New life for forgotten technique in detecting resistant tuberculosis

South Africa to become first PEPFAR country to 'nationalize' AIDS program

Syrians in urgent need of life-saving medicines as fighting escalates, WHO warns

Link between chronic exposure to staph bacteria and risk of lupus

New HIV test helps researchers determine incidence, whether prevention strategies work

President's Malaria Initiative contributing to 'major progress' against disease, should be expanded

New method gives precise picture of how immune system works

University of Nevada researcher to optimize new rapid test for melioidosis

Covalon’s IV Clear antimicrobial clear silicone dressing to be presented at FIME 2012

Pathologist identifies HPV DNA fragments in post-mortem samples after Gardasil vaccination

Drug companies developing novel treatments for MDR-TB

UAB program helps reduce incidence of HIV/AIDS in the U.S.

Malawi launches week-long campaign to test 250,000 people for HIV

Melinda Gates dedicates Tällberg Foundation prize money to Rotary International

Clinton discusses global HIV efforts with South African officials during 11-day African tour

Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement could restrict access to affordable, life-saving drugs

Real-time Raman monitoring for pharmaceutical hot melt extrusion

Synthetic Psychedelics: A Growing Public Health Concern

How the Vutara VXL simplifies single-molecule imaging

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