Medical News

RSS

N.Y. governor signs order establishing state health insurance exchange

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo bypassed the state legislature where Republicans had blocked a bill and issued an executive order establishing a new health insurance exchange, a major part of the health care law.

16 Apr 2012

Link between phthalates and risk of diabetes among seniors

There is a connection between phthalates found in cosmetics and plastics and the risk of developing diabetes among seniors. Even at a modest increase in circulating phthalate levels, the risk of diabetes is doubled. This conclusion is drawn by researchers at Uppsala University in a study published in the journal Diabetes Care.

16 Apr 2012

NTD experts push forward on plan to eradicate yaws

Yaws, a skin and bone disease caused by a treponematoses bacterium that can cause long-term deformities, "has recently been put on WHO's list of 17 so-called neglected tropical diseases (NTDs)" and, along with Guinea worm, is "slated for eradication," the Lancet reports.

16 Apr 2012

Scientists identify which T. gondii strains are linked with severe illness in U.S. infants

Scientists have identified which strains of the Toxoplasma gondii parasite, the cause of toxoplasmosis, are most strongly associated with premature births and severe birth defects in the United States.

16 Apr 2012

CMS settles Medicare reimbursement dispute with hospitals

With a price tag of about $3 billion, the agreement ends a decade-long dispute between an estimated 2,200 hospitals and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services over the calculation of pay rate cuts and offsets for rural hospitals.

16 Apr 2012

UM hosts symposium on next generation characterization tools for therapeutic proteins

In a concerted effort to boost regional collaboration on developing new protein drug and diagnostics, the University of Maryland (UM) School of Pharmacy has hosted the first Interdisciplinary Symposium on Next Generation Characterization Tools for Therapeutic Proteins.

16 Apr 2012

Daily Monitor analysis examines history of male circumcision debate

In this Daily Monitor analysis, Joseph Matovu, Rhoda Wanyenze and David Serwadda, all lecturers at Makerere University School of Public Health in Kampala, Uganda, respond to two articles related to male circumcision that were published in the Daily Monitor in March.

16 Apr 2012

Significant skull variation between groups in close proximity

In order to accurately identify skulls as male or female, forensic anthropologists need to have a good understanding of how the characteristics of male and female skulls differ between populations. A new study from North Carolina State University shows that these differences can be significant, even between populations that are geographically close to one another.

16 Apr 2012

Congressional leaders' budget dispute is a preview to fall elections

Democrats and Republicans in Congress can't agree on a budget, but there's no disagreement about using (Rep. Paul) Ryan's to highlight an election-year divide. ... The debate underscores the broader dispute between the two parties about the role and size of government. From town halls to job fairs to meet-and-greets with voters during Congress' two-week recess, Democrats and Republicans focused on the budget in a preview of the seven-month campaign to November.

16 Apr 2012

Study examines cellular and molecular organization of human and mouse brain

Scientists at the Allen Institute for Brain Science have identified similarities and differences among regions of the human brain, among the brains of human individuals, and between humans and mice by analyzing the expression of approximately 1,000 genes in the brain.

16 Apr 2012

Grants flow from Komen to Planned Parenthood

Grants from the Susan G. Komen Foundation for the Cure are flowing to Planned Parenthood, as the women's health organizations seek to rebuild their relationship after the controversy in February over the breast cancer charity's unsuccessful attempt to defund Planned Parenthood.

16 Apr 2012

UAB receives NIDCR grant to create national dental practice-based research network

Oral health has been called the window to one's overall health, and a new national research effort led by the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Dentistry aims to provide people on the frontline of oral health care - community dentists in private practice - the opportunity to be on the forefront of research that addresses day-to-day issues they face with patients. The effort not only could improve the nation's dental health but its overall health as well.

16 Apr 2012

U.S. halts North Korean food aid after country launches long-range missile

"The U.S. will halt planned shipments of thousands of tons in food aid to North Korea after the reclusive Asian nation's launch of a long-range rocket, two Obama administration officials said," Bloomberg News reports.

16 Apr 2012

MSKCC's website nominated for Webby in the Health category

Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center's website has been nominated for The Webby Award, the most prestigious international award honoring excellence on the Internet. Selected from among nearly 10,000 total entries, the Center's website is one of five nominated in the Health category.

16 Apr 2012

Cholera vaccination pilot project begins in Haiti

"A year and a half after cholera first struck Haiti, a tiny portion of the population on Thursday began getting vaccinated against the waterborne disease that has infected more than 530,000 Haitians and killed more than 7,040," the New York Times reports.

16 Apr 2012

UVA engineer and biologist named recipients of Hartwell Individual Biomedical Research Awards

University of Virginia engineer Silvia Salinas Blemker and biologist Christopher Deppmann have been named recipients of 2011 Hartwell Individual Biomedical Research Awards, which provide $100,000 in annual research support for three years to each awardee.

16 Apr 2012

Next five years important for S. Africa to show it can effectively respond to HIV, TB

South Africa's recently released "National Strategic Plan on HIV, Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) and Tuberculosis (TB) 2012-2016" "marked an important milestone" in the nation's fight against infectious diseases, a Lancet editorial states.

16 Apr 2012

Intelligence may have co-evolved with worry in humans

Worrying may have evolved along with intelligence as a beneficial trait, according to a recent study by scientists at SUNY Downstate Medical Center and other institutions.

16 Apr 2012

Obama, Romney advisers trade barbs on priorities

Campaign advisers to President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney say the general election will offer competing visions of how to help the middle class. Romney adviser Ed Gillespie says the most important thing to do is to foster job creation, and the best way to do that is through policies that promote free enterprise. ... Obama adviser David Axelrod says Romney essentially is calling for more tax cuts for the wealthy while making reductions to safety net programs such as Medicaid.

16 Apr 2012

Disruption of key cellular functions produces physiologic and behavioral responses

Two Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH)-based research teams, along with a group from the University of California at San Diego, have discovered that animals have a previously unknown system for detecting and responding to pathogens and toxins. In three papers published in the journals Cell and Cell Host & Microbe, the investigators describe finding evidence that disruptions to the core functions of animal cells trigger immune and detoxification responses, along with behavioral changes.

16 Apr 2012