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Damaging consequences of potential spending cuts to medical research

The report "Sequestration: Health Research at the Breaking Point," released today by Research!America, demonstrates the damaging consequences of potential automatic spending cuts, or sequestration, to the nation's medical research enterprise and public health, and offers examples on how these cuts would delay scientific discoveries that could lead to new treatments and cures for deadly diseases.

11 May 2012

Killer coating destroys bacteria and fungi on contact

Better than antibiotics, it is being used in contact lenses to prevent infections and biomedical products are the next stage

11 May 2012

Viewpoints: Two views on how to fight obesity; Tough choices for big business on health costs

Forgive us if we don't cheer at the prospect of adding 32 million to the total number of Americans who are dozens of pounds too heavy, a count that stood in 2010 at 78 million.

11 May 2012

Study describes new compounds that inhibit PRMT1 enzyme

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have found the first chemical compounds that act to block an enzyme that has been linked to inflammatory conditions such as asthma and arthritis, as well as some inflammation-promoted cancers.

11 May 2012

Study looking at impact of HIV funding on Rwanda's health system has 'serious limitations'

In this post on the Center for Global Development's (CGD) "Global Health Policy" blog, Research Fellow Victoria Fan, Director of Global Health Policy Amanda Glassman, and Research Assistant Rachel Silverman of the Center for Global Development (CGD) examine what they call the "serious limitations" of a study published recently in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene that looked at the impact of HIV/AIDS funding on Rwanda's health system.

11 May 2012

New insights into how body's innate immunity is triggered to create effective immune response

Singapore scientists from Bioprocessing Technology Institute (BTI) under the Agency of Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) have for the first time, identified the molecular 'switch' that directly triggers the body's first line of defence against pathogens, more accurately known as the body's "innate immunity".

11 May 2012

International community should unite to ensure adequate family planning services for women in West Africa, globally

"For many years, in large parts of West Africa, the percentage of women who use contraception has stalled at less than 10 percent, leading many to declare that there is very little or no demand for family planning (FP) in the region.

11 May 2012

Study reveals sex-specific fitness benefit of variability of MHC genes

Females of mammals (including humans) tend to outlive males, a circumstance that is usually attributed to males- more aggressive and hence energy-depleting behaviour, especially when they compete for females. This might also explain why males of many species usually show a higher parasite burden than females.

11 May 2012

California budget cuts not over, warns governor, even as proposed trim to health centers fails

California Gov. Jerry Brown warns more budget cuts are coming, and many expect trims to health programs. In the meantime, a bid to reduce funding to federally qualified health centers in the state failed.

11 May 2012

'Packing problem' could have a solution for cancer treatment

A hidden facet of a math problem that goes back to Sanskrit scrolls has just been exposed by nanotechnology researchers at the University of Michigan and the University of Connecticut.

11 May 2012

FDA panel recommends approval of Truvada as preventive treatment for HIV

"In a move that could lead to a new milestone for treatment in the evolution of the worldwide AIDS epidemic," a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) panel on Thursday recommended Gilead Sciences' Truvada as a treatment for preventing HIV infection among healthy people at risk of contracting the virus, Reuters reports, noting, "It already has FDA approval to treat people infected with the human immunodeficiency virus".

11 May 2012

Chromatin compaction required for proper embryonic stem cell differentiation

New research findings show that embryonic stem cells unable to fully compact the DNA inside them cannot complete their primary task: differentiation into specific cell types that give rise to the various types of tissues and structures in the body.

11 May 2012

U.S. investment in global health has been successful, deserves continued congressional support

"Over the next few weeks, appropriators will be engaged in the challenging task of evaluating U.S. foreign assistance funding, including how effectively Congress' global health investments are being used," Charles Lyons, president and CEO of the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation; Molly Joel Coye, interim president and CEO of PATH; Carolyn Miles, president and CEO of Save the Children; and Richard Stearns, president of World Vision, write in this Roll Call opinion piece.

11 May 2012

FDA advisory committee supports lorcaserin for weight management

Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Eisai Inc. announced today that the US Food and Drug Administration Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee voted 18 to 4, with one abstention, that the available data demonstrate that the potential benefits of lorcaserin outweigh the potential risks when used long-term in a population of overweight and obese individuals.

11 May 2012

Science academies issue statements to inform G8 leaders on water, energy, resiliency to natural disasters

"Scientists from 15 countries are calling for a better political response to the provision of water and energy to meet the challenge of feeding a world of nine billion people within 30 years," Reuters reports.

11 May 2012

FDA warns about 'liberation therapy' for multiple sclerosis

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is alerting health care professionals and patients about injuries and death associated with the use of an experimental procedure sometimes called "liberation therapy" or the "liberation procedure" to treat chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI).

11 May 2012

Medical News

Damaging consequences of potential spending cuts to medical research

Killer coating destroys bacteria and fungi on contact

Viewpoints: Two views on how to fight obesity; Tough choices for big business on health costs

Study describes new compounds that inhibit PRMT1 enzyme

Study looking at impact of HIV funding on Rwanda's health system has 'serious limitations'

New insights into how body's innate immunity is triggered to create effective immune response

International community should unite to ensure adequate family planning services for women in West Africa, globally

Study reveals sex-specific fitness benefit of variability of MHC genes

California budget cuts not over, warns governor, even as proposed trim to health centers fails

'Packing problem' could have a solution for cancer treatment

FDA panel recommends approval of Truvada as preventive treatment for HIV

Chromatin compaction required for proper embryonic stem cell differentiation

U.S. investment in global health has been successful, deserves continued congressional support

FDA advisory committee supports lorcaserin for weight management

Science academies issue statements to inform G8 leaders on water, energy, resiliency to natural disasters

FDA warns about 'liberation therapy' for multiple sclerosis

Cigna to increase supplemental health insurance offerings with acquisition

Bacteria in digestive tracts compete against invading bacteria

Most deaths in children under 5 from preventable infectious causes, study suggests

Accelerated partial breast irradiation does not compromise survival

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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