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Blood levels of PCBs in polar bear cubs appear to have dropped

It's never been easy to be a polar bear. They may have to go months without eating. Their preferred food, seal, requires enormous luck and patience to catch. Add to that the melting of Arctic sea ice due to climate change, and the poisoning of the Arctic by toxic chemicals, and it's easy to see why polar bears worldwide are in trouble.

30 Mar 2012

Risk of botulism at California fish processing company

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, in a complaint filed by the Department of Justice, is seeking to stop the processing and distribution of fish products at a California company because of a risk of botulism and other food hazards.

30 Mar 2012

Staggering economic costs of autism will continue to rise

Autism Speaks, the world's leading autism science and advocacy organization, today announced preliminary results of new research that estimates autism costs society a staggering $126 billion per year (U.S.) - a number that has more than tripled since 2006, and annually in the U.K. has reached more than -34 billion (equivalent to $54 billion U.S.).

30 Mar 2012

CINJ experts available for discussion on cancer

April marks National Cancer Control Month, which focuses on the importance of prevention, treatment and research in the fight against cancer.

30 Mar 2012

USAID NTD Program funding cut by nearly 25% in proposed FY13 budget

"The United States Government has played a major role in ensuring that patients with certain [neglected tropical diseases (NTDs)] receive urgently needed treatments through the [USAID] NTD Program, while simultaneously being the largest funder of basic research for NTDs through the National Institutes of Health,"

30 Mar 2012

Stop TB Partnership, TAG release report on tuberculosis research funding

The Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog reports the findings from the second edition of the 2011 Report on Tuberculosis (TB) Research Funding and Trends from 2005-2010, released Thursday by Treatment Action Group (TAG) and the Stop TB Partnership.

30 Mar 2012

Disrupting mTORC1 protein complex extends lifespan

One of the secrets to a longer, healthier life is simply to eat less. When subjected to calorie restriction (CR), typically defined as a 20-40% reduction in caloric intake with corresponding maintenance of proper nutrition, animals in labs not only live longer, but also have improved insulin sensitivity and glucose tolerance, both of which decline during aging.

30 Mar 2012

First Edition: March 30, 2012

Today's health policy headlines include reports that the House yesterday approved the $3.5 trillion budget plan proposed by Paul Ryan -- which includes deep cuts in entitlements and will likely trigger the election-year fiscal debate.

30 Mar 2012

Democrats respond to Ryan budget plan with billboard, cries of foul

GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney offered his support for the plan advanced by Rep. Paul Rayn, R- Wis., causing Democrats to point out inconsistencies with his attacks on the health law. Meanwhile, Democrats have posted a billboard in Ryan's hometown criticizing his proposals on Medicare.

30 Mar 2012

Ozone can trigger severe violent breathing attacks in many people

Ozone, the prevalent gas found in air pollution, and mostly experienced from March to October, can trigger severe violent breathing attacks in many people, particularly children and seniors, says a lung expert from Ben Taub General Hospital in Houston.

30 Mar 2012

Paying doctors and hospitals for better outcomes may not pay off

Medicare's largest effort to pay bonuses to hospitals that hit key performance measures -- or dock them if they miss -- did not lead to fewer deaths for heart attacks and heart bypass surgery, a new study finds. The analysis could lead to a reexamination of the idea of paying providers based on quality metrics, rather than on volume, which is key to the health law.

30 Mar 2012

Health law continues to trigger salvos in Mass. Senate race

Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass., and Democratic challenger Elizabeth Warren continue to spar over health policy issues. At the same time, Brown's election to the Senate could continue to impact the fate of the health law.

30 Mar 2012

Marfan syndrome researcher to receive March of Dimes/Colonel Harland Sanders Award

A long-time clinician and researcher on Marfan syndrome who helped identify the syndrome's genetic cause and a potential treatment will be honored by the March of Dimes.

30 Mar 2012

High court and severability: What parts of the law could fall?

On Wednesday, the nine justices pondered what parts -- if any -- of the health law could go forward if the individual mandate is overturned. The discussion involved fundamental consitutional questions.

30 Mar 2012

Study looks at how health care providers react to medication alerts in EMR systems

A study by Regenstrief Institute and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs investigators provides the first in-depth look at how health care providers react to medication alerts generated by electronic medical record systems. The researchers plan to use this information to improve the design of medication alerts and diminish the phenomenon known as alert fatigue, where providers can become desensitized and may start unintentionally ignoring some important warnings.

30 Mar 2012

Examining potential implications of the Affordable Care Act on global health

In this post in the Global Health Governance Blog, contributing blogger David Fidler, a professor of law at Indiana University's Maurer School of Law, examines the potential implications of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) on global health law, writing, "In the midst of this constitutional and political moment, I find myself wondering what this seminal American case means, if anything, beyond the United States in the realm of global health."

30 Mar 2012

ASD more prevalent among New Jersey children: CDC

New statistics issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicate that the prevalence of autism spectrum disorders found among 8-year-old children in a sample area of New Jersey is significantly higher than in most other states surveyed.

30 Mar 2012

Basidiobolomycosis appears to be emerging in the Southwestern U.S.

An emerging fungal infection of the gastrointestinal tract that mimics cancer and inflammatory bowel disease appears to be emerging in the Southwestern United States and other desert regions, according to Mayo Clinic researchers in Arizona investigating the disease. The invasive fungus, Basidiobolus ranarum, is typically found in the soil, decaying organic matter and the gastrointestinal tracts of fish, reptiles, amphibians, and bats.

30 Mar 2012

Medicaid questions complete the court's health law review

At some points during the Supreme Court's consideration of the health law's Medicaid expansion, conservative justices not only questioned this provision of the law, but the program itself.

30 Mar 2012

Demand for dentist anesthesiologists in pediatric dental practices is on the rise

The demand for dentist anesthesiologists in pediatric dental practices is on the rise. More than 70 percent of board-certified pediatric dentists in the United States provide mild to moderate sedation in their practices. Nearly that many, 60 to 70 percent, would use a dentist anesthesiologist if one were available. However, supply cannot yet meet the demand.

30 Mar 2012