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Cranberry juice far better than extracts at fighting urinary tract infections

With scientific evidence now supporting the age-old wisdom that cranberries, whether in sauce or as juice, prevent urinary tract infections, people have wondered if there was an element of the berry that, if extracted and condensed, perhaps in pill form, would be as effective as drinking the juice or eating cranberry sauce. A new study from researchers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute helps to answer that question.

29 Oct 2011

Report redefines gender issues in science and innovation

Gender in Science and its partners today launched a report on the results of a public consultation which invited all European innovation stakeholders to give their views on the correlation between gender and innovation.

29 Oct 2011

Smart City-Smart Village initiative to improve health and wellbeing of Rakyat

Sustainable, high-value and inclusive projects under the Smart City-Smart Village initiative of Malaysia's recently-formed Global Science and Innovation Advisory Council (GSIAC) were identified by leaders of international and local companies convened Oct. 27-28 in Kuala Lumpur.

29 Oct 2011

Federal officials approve Calif. cuts in Medicaid

Gov. Jerry Brown sought the waiver from the Obama administration to reduce reimbursements to doctors, pharmacies, nursing homes and other providers by 10 percent.

29 Oct 2011

Ovarian cancer patients with many folate receptors benefit from new therapy

A new strategy that takes advantage of ovarian cancer's reliance on folate appears to give relapse patients extra months of life with few side effects, researchers say.

29 Oct 2011

'Deep sequencing' technology identifies new target area for depression

Scientists at the Texas Biomedical Research Institute and Yale University have identified a new target area in the human genome that appears to harbor genes with a major role in the onset of depression.

29 Oct 2011

USAID celebrates 50 years of partnership with Kenya

This post in USAID's "IMPACTblog" -- the third of a four-part series on USAID's partnership with Kenya -- reports on how "USAID's health and population program ... works with partners in Kenya to bring health workers directly to the communities. These health workers provide information and care through HIV/AIDS and malaria programs, as well as work with community religious leaders to discuss family planning."

29 Oct 2011

Balanced approach can combat Central Africa's food insecurity

The polarized debate over the use of organic and inorganic practices to boost farm yields is slowing action and widespread farmer adoption of approaches that could radically transform Africa's food security situation, according to a group of leading international scientists meeting in Kigali this week.

29 Oct 2011

Manual wheelchair users can burn up to 120 calories in half an hour

A person who uses a manual wheelchair can burn up to 120 calories in half an hour while wheeling at 2 mph on a flat surface, which is three times as much as someone doing the same action in a motorized wheelchair.

29 Oct 2011

Study: Many fetal expression changes are reversed immediately after birth

The "switching on" or expression of specific genes in the human genome is what makes each human tissue and each human being unique. A new study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the Lieber Institute for Brain Development, and the National Institute of Mental Health found that many gene expression changes that occur during fetal development are reversed immediately after birth.

29 Oct 2011

NTDs among America's poor populations must be addressed

"The number of Americans living in poverty is at an all-time high, with close to 50 million people living below the poverty line," therefore "we desperately need a national dialogue about the unique afflictions of the bottom 50 million, paying particular attention to their neglected tropical diseases, which represent important stealth reasons trapping them in a vicious cycle of poverty," Peter Hotez, founding dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, writes in an Austin-American Statesman opinion piece.

29 Oct 2011

Book discusses how America can solve its weight problems without government intrusion

America's emerging "fat war" threatens to pit a shrinking population of trim Americans against an expanding population of heavy Americans in raging policy debates over "fat taxes" and "fat bans." These "fat policies" would be designed to constrain what people eat and drink - and theoretically crimp the growth in Americans' waistlines and in the country's healthcare costs.

29 Oct 2011

Study uncovers mTOR's complex signaling pathway

Even yeast understand austerity. A finely tuned system evolved early on to help cells survive in a world where good times come as fast as they go. The system, a molecular switch found in organisms from yeast to humans, involves a nutrient-sensing protein that turns growth on in times of plenty and shuts it off when times are lean.

29 Oct 2011

Glitazone treatment does not cause side effects in patients with metastatic thyroid cancer

Repeated radio-ablation therapy with iodine-131 to treat metastatic thyroid cancer can be less effective than the initial round of treatment due to de-differentiation of the cancer cells as the disease progresses, making them less sensitive to I-131.

29 Oct 2011

Political cartoon: 'Magic Revolving Door'

Kaiser Health News provides a fresh perspective on health policy news with "Magic Revolving Door" by Matt Wuerker.

29 Oct 2011

First study to evaluate primary care usage in ethnic group of diabetes patients

Ethnic differences in appointment keeping may be an important factor in poor health outcomes among some minority patients with diabetes, according to a new study.

29 Oct 2011

'Heroes of Hope Race for Brain Tumor Research' event to be held on Nov. 6

Veronica Cappalonga, 28, knows a lot about living with cancer. Diagnosed at age 6 with leukemia and at 22 with a malignant brain tumor, the Los Angeles (Mar Vista area) resident will walk in the Nov. 6 Heroes of Hope Race for Brain Tumor Research - not only to help fundraise, but also to show that survivors can fight these diseases with dignity.

29 Oct 2011

Medicare 2012 Part B premiums will be lower than expected

The Obama administration cheered the news regarding the cost of Part B premiums in part because it could give a political boost to President Barack Obama's popularity among older voters.

29 Oct 2011

Study explores how physicians describe their language skills

Communicating with patients who do not speak English is a challenge facing all health care providers. New research shows that even those physicians who say they are fluent in a second language may be overestimating their actual skills.

29 Oct 2011

Twelve students participate in Hartford Doctoral Fellows Program in Geriatric Social Work

Twelve outstanding students have been chosen as the newest participants in the Hartford Doctoral Fellows Program in Geriatric Social Work. The program is funded by the John A. Hartford Foundation, administered by The Gerontological Society of America, and directed by James Lubben, DSW, MPH.

29 Oct 2011