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UMass Amherst biochemist receives NIH grant to map molecular structure of bacterial needle

Biochemist Alejandro Heuck at the University of Massachusetts Amherst recently received a five-year, $950,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health to map the molecular structure of a needle-like tool used by deadly bacteria to drill holes in mammalian cell walls.

29 Jun 2012

Viewpoints: The moral underpinning of the health law; Mandate may not be critical

There was a reason - a pretty noble one, in fact - behind Obamacare, as well as several earlier proposals, Democratic and Republican, to overhaul the health-care system. As the president put it in 2009, providing near-universal coverage for Americans is "a core ethical and moral obligation." That hasn't come up much recently, as soothsayers of all stripes have been predicting how the Supreme Court will rule shortly after 10 a.m. Thursday.

29 Jun 2012

Blindsight in monkeys is available in everyday environments

The visual information from eyes is sent into the brain unconsciously even if you are not aware. One of examples of unconscious seeing is a phenomenon of "blindsight" [Subjects have no awareness, but their brains can see] in subjects with visual impairment, caused by the damage of a part of the brain called the visual cortex.

29 Jun 2012

Health worker training programs working to improve women's health in Afghanistan

"Women in Afghanistan are 70 times more likely to die in childbirth than from a bullet or a bomb, according to Save the Children," CNN reports, adding that is "a grim statistic the women here are trying to change."

29 Jun 2012

ACR updates 39 appropriateness criteria topics and adds five new criteria

New and updated evidence-based guidelines to help health care providers choose the most appropriate medical imaging exam or radiation therapy for a patient's clinical condition are now available via the latest version of the American College of Radiology (ACR) Appropriateness Criteria.

29 Jun 2012

Setting the scene: The Supreme Court's health law ruling

With a ruling expected soon after the justices take the bench at 10 a.m., speculation focuses not only on what its various elements will be, but how the various players will spin them.

29 Jun 2012

Stanford Medical School comment on Supreme Court ruling on health-care reform law

Today’s Supreme Court ruling on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 advances the broad effort to extend health-care coverage and control medical costs, though it raises questions about how certain provisions of the policy will be implemented, Stanford University School of Medicine experts said. Here are some initial comments on the court’s landmark decision.

29 Jun 2012

Home care association responds to Supreme Court’s decision on Affordable Care Act

Today, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Affordable Care Act. The following is the National Association for Home Care & Hospice’s (NAHC) official statement, from President Val J. Halamandaris:

29 Jun 2012

Inhibiting immune response during initial multi-drug therapy could speed TB treatment time

Inhibiting a key immune response in mice during initial multi-drug treatment for tuberculosis could - paradoxically - shorten treatment time for the highly contagious lung infection according to new research from Johns Hopkins Children's Center and the Center for TB Research.

29 Jun 2012

Recognizing the role of the health care worker in providing family planning services

In this post in the RH Reality Check blog, Laura Hoemeke, director of communications and knowledge management at IntraHealth International, writes that it "takes a health worker, or more accurately millions of health workers, to meet the need that hundreds of millions of couples worldwide have for family planning."

29 Jun 2012

Cost of dengue vaccine production could be as low as $0.20 per dose

Research funded by the Dengue Vaccine Initiative (DVI) involving an economic analysis of producing a tetravalent dengue vaccine shows that the cost could be as low as $0.20 per dose with an annual production level of 60 million doses packaged in ten-dose vials. The study used data on a vaccine developed by US NIH and the facilities of the Instituto Butantan in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

29 Jun 2012

Obama, Congressional Dems claim 'victory for America' in court's health law decision

Obama quickly declared victory, praising the ruling in a statement from the White House. "Whatever the politics, today's decision was a victory for people all over this country whose laws will be more secure because of this law and the Supreme Court's decision to uphold it," he said.

29 Jun 2012

RUB biologists deliberately transform spinal cord stem cells into immature nerve cells

RUB biologists have deliberately transformed stem cells from the spinal cord of mice into immature nerve cells. This was achieved by changing the cellular environment, known as the extracellular matrix, using the substance sodium chlorate.

29 Jun 2012

Medicaid expansion: What will states do now?

News outlets explore how the high court's ruling on the health law's Medicaid expansion might play out.

29 Jun 2012

Drug trial participants should be better informed about benefits and side-effects of placebos

Research carried out at the University of Southampton has concluded that participants in drug trials should be better informed about the potential significant benefits and possible side-effects of placebos.

29 Jun 2012

Some health system changes will move forward, regardless of the Supreme Court ruling

News outlets report that a "quiet revolution" in how care is delivered is already taking place across the country that closely tracks many of the changes advanced by the health law.

29 Jun 2012

Study reveals technique that allows scientists to watch lipid metabolism in live zebrafish

In mammals, most lipids are absorbed into the body via the small intestine. The complexity of the cells and fluids that inhabit this organ make it very difficult to study in a laboratory setting. New research from Carnegie's Steven Farber, James Walters and Jennifer Anderson reveals a technique that allows scientists to watch lipid metabolism in live zebrafish. This method enabled them to describe new aspects of lipid absorption that could have broad applications for human health.

29 Jun 2012

Frontline health workers key to providing family planning services in developing countries

"Around the world, frontline health workers are often the first link to lifesaving care and supplies, and in some cases they are the only link for families and communities in rural and impoverished areas," Oying Rimon, a senior program officer in family health at the foundation, writes in this post in the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's "Impatient Optimists" blog.

29 Jun 2012

Low-level social capital can lead to mental ill-health among older people

Older people experiencing low-level social capital are more likely to suffer from mental ill-health and this risk group should have access to initiatives that empower social networking and a maintained rich social life. Researcher Anna Forsman at the Nordic School of Public Health NHV have examined how mental health can be promoted and mental health problems be prevented among older adults by using psychosocial initiatives.

29 Jun 2012

Study explains why memory improves on a high-DHA diet

We've all heard that eating fish is good for our brains and memory. But what is it about DHA, an omega-3 fatty acid found in fish, that makes our memory sharper? Medical researchers at the University of Alberta discovered a possible explanation and just published their findings in the peer-reviewed journal Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism.

29 Jun 2012

Medical News

UMass Amherst biochemist receives NIH grant to map molecular structure of bacterial needle

Viewpoints: The moral underpinning of the health law; Mandate may not be critical

Blindsight in monkeys is available in everyday environments

Health worker training programs working to improve women's health in Afghanistan

ACR updates 39 appropriateness criteria topics and adds five new criteria

Setting the scene: The Supreme Court's health law ruling

Stanford Medical School comment on Supreme Court ruling on health-care reform law

Home care association responds to Supreme Court’s decision on Affordable Care Act

Inhibiting immune response during initial multi-drug therapy could speed TB treatment time

Recognizing the role of the health care worker in providing family planning services

Cost of dengue vaccine production could be as low as $0.20 per dose

Obama, Congressional Dems claim 'victory for America' in court's health law decision

RUB biologists deliberately transform spinal cord stem cells into immature nerve cells

Medicaid expansion: What will states do now?

Drug trial participants should be better informed about benefits and side-effects of placebos

Some health system changes will move forward, regardless of the Supreme Court ruling

Study reveals technique that allows scientists to watch lipid metabolism in live zebrafish

Frontline health workers key to providing family planning services in developing countries

Low-level social capital can lead to mental ill-health among older people

Study explains why memory improves on a high-DHA diet

How Programmable Nanobiology Could Drive the Fifth Industrial Revolution

Dr. Anthony Grice

Building quality into drug development for safer, faster medicines

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