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Scientists assess phytoremediation potential in 86 plant species

Formaldehyde is a major contaminant of indoor air, originating from particle board, carpet, window coverings, paper products, tobacco smoke, and other sources. Indoor volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as formaldehyde can contribute to allergies, asthma, headaches, and a condition known as ''sick building syndrome".

24 Jun 2011

Governments should consider social impacts of austerity measures, U.N. report says

In the wake of the 2008-09 financial crisis, many country's governments could be undermining economic recovery by implementing austerity measures such as cuts in spending on health, education and other social programs, which "threaten to turn back decades of social progress, block new job creation and derail efforts to eradicate poverty" in both developed and developing nations, according to a United Nations report published Wednesday, Reuters reports.

24 Jun 2011

Birth defects more prevalent in mountaintop coal mining areas

Birth defects are significantly more common in areas of mountaintop coal mining and are on the rise as the practice becomes more common, according to a study by researchers at Washington State University and West Virginia University.

24 Jun 2011

Cedars-Sinai ranked as top 25 IT employment spots

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center rose for the third year in a row in a national ranking of best places for technology specialists to work, becoming one of the country's top 25 IT employment spots and winning continued recognition for how it values diversity among its employees.

24 Jun 2011

New IUPUI facility to focus on urban health issues

A new center at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis has a tall order to fill - improving the quality of life for billions of people.

24 Jun 2011

HHS scales back rules for patient health care appeals

The Obama administration announced Wednesday that it was scaling back its earlier-released rules regarding consumers' right to appeal health plan care denials.

24 Jun 2011

AHRQ: 1 in 6 Americans use more than 10% of family income to pay for medical expenses

Roughly 1 of every 6 Americans age 18 to 64 reported using more than 10 percent of their total family income to pay for health insurance premiums and out-of-pocket medical expenses in 2007, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

24 Jun 2011

Northwest Hospital wins Silver Plus Performance Achievement Award for stroke care

Northwest Hospital in Randallstown, Maryland, has earned a Silver Plus Performance Achievement Award from The American Heart Association and the American Stroke Association.

24 Jun 2011

Health law politics cause sparks to fly among GOP presidential hopefuls

In the background, Republicans on Capitol Hill are renewing their criticisms of the health law's Independent Payment Advisory Board as a "rationing" panel. Also reverberating — how candidates are handling the GOP anti-abortion pledge, and findings from a new poll suggest Americans are leery of the Medicare plan advanced by Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis.

24 Jun 2011

Global Fund signs onto International Aid Transparency Initiative

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria announced Thursday that "it has become a signatory of the International Aid Transparency Initiative, which "means that grant information currently on the Global Fund website will be aligned to an internationally agreed set of standards" and "financial and grant activity data and documentation will be accessible to a broader audience and will be comparable to information provided by other donors," according to a Global Fund press release.

24 Jun 2011

Psychosocial stress may enhance lung-damaging effects of traffic-related pollution in children

Psychosocial stress appears to enhance the lung-damaging effects of traffic-related pollution (TRP) in children, according to new research from the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles.

24 Jun 2011

Furthering progress on childhood vaccines

In a Huffington Post opinion piece, Gro Brundtland, a member of the U.N. Foundation board of directors, former WHO director general and former prime minister of Norway, discusses global progress on childhood vaccines. Brundtland discusses the upcoming launch of the U.N. Foundation's global vaccines campaign aimed at inspiring Americans "to provide children in the developing world with immunizations against deadly diseases."

24 Jun 2011

News outlets detail ACO concerns, historic perspectives

The idea of coordinating care through accountable care organizations used to be a non-ideological notion. Not anymore. At a briefing for Capitol Hill staff sponsored by the Heritage Foundation, conservative critics complained about the Obama administration's work on ACOs.

24 Jun 2011

New report offers policy recommendations to combat early childhood obesity

A new national report offers policy recommendations to curb the high rates of obesity among America's youngest children.

24 Jun 2011

Longer looks: Prenatal care for dads; rise in bipolar diagnosis for children

Perhaps it's because mom has the burgeoning belly, but dads have largely been left out of prenatal care. That could be damaging to the family's health, contends research in a recent issue of the Journal of Advanced Nursing.

24 Jun 2011

State roundup: N.Y. and union reach deal on benefits

The state's largest public-employee union, acknowledging the pressures on government workers around the nation, agreed on Wednesday to major wage and benefits concessions in a pact to avoid sweeping layoffs. The five-year agreement ... includes a three-year wage freeze, the first furloughs ever for state workers and an increase in the amount employees must pay toward their health insurance.

24 Jun 2011

ACS designates Stanford as level-2 pediatric trauma center

Stanford's trauma center has been verified as a level-2 pediatric trauma center by the American College of Surgeons.

24 Jun 2011

Viewpoints: McKinsey report contentiousness; Medicare facts vs. beliefs; insurers' HSA 'strategy'

The White House routinely tries to intimidate its health-care critics, but the campaign against McKinsey & Co. is something else. The management consultants attempted to find out how U.S. business will respond to the government restructuring of 17.3% of the economy, Democrats don't like the results, and so McKinsey must pay with its reputation.

24 Jun 2011

Payroll agitation for Queensland health workers

The health workers’ unions of Queensland have rallied at Chermside to highlight the unresolved pay problems, and demand more recognition for the extra work and expertise involved in running the new payroll system.

23 Jun 2011

RACGP welcomes Senate Inquiry into mental health funding cuts

The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) has welcomed the move yesterday to hold a Senate Inquiry into the Federal Government’s decision to cut the Medicare patient rebates for GP mental health services in the 2011‐2012 Federal Budget. The Senate Inquiry comes after strong and consistent lobbying on the issue by the RACGP and our colleagues within United General Practice Australia (UGPA).

23 Jun 2011