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Action Medical Research announces grants to investigate conditions affecting babies, children

Action Medical Research - the leading UK-wide medical research charity dedicated to helping babies and children - has today announced grants worth more than £1.3 million for top researchers across the country.

13 Oct 2011

Cigarette smoke interferes with Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator protein

If you smoke cigarettes, you have more in common with someone who has cystic fibrosis than you think. A new research report appearing online in the FASEB Journal shows that smoking cigarettes affects the lungs in a way that is very similar to cystic fibrosis, a life threatening disease affecting the lungs and other organs.

13 Oct 2011

AARP members take to the Hill to protect entitlements

In effort to reinforce national television advertising, more than 400 AARP volunteers and staffers will be on Capitol Hill today to remind lawmakers not to cut Medicare. Meanwhile, both Democratic and Republican leaders are sending clear messages to the "super committee" and their fellow lawmakers regarding what they think should be on the table and how to frame expectations.

13 Oct 2011

Hospitalized patients with anemia may not always benefit from transfusion

University of Kentucky researchers, including lead author Samy Selim of the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine and the Saha Cardiovascular Research Center, have recently published a paper suggesting that transfusion may not always be the best treatment for hospitalized patients with anemia.

13 Oct 2011

Haiti uses 'peanut butter medicine' to battle malnutrition

CNN/Global Health Frontline News examines how "ready-to-use therapeutic foods" are being used in Haiti to help children with severe malnutrition. U.S. nonprofit organization Meds and Food for Kids makes "Medika Mamba, which means 'peanut butter medicine' in Creole. It's a ready-to-eat paste packed with nutritious ingredients that -- over a period of weeks -- gives a jolt to the system and puts children back on track," the news agency writes.

13 Oct 2011

SWHR hosts Capitol Hill briefing, The War Within: Women and Autoimmunity

50:1, 9:1, 2:1 these are just some ratios of autoimmune disease disparities between women and men. The Society for Women's Health Research (SWHR) hosted the Capitol Hill briefing, The War Within: Women and Autoimmunity, on Tuesday, October 11 to address these concerns.

13 Oct 2011

Guardian photo gallery shows North Korea's food crisis in pictures

The Guardian published a gallery of photographs taken in North Korea by Damir Sagolj, after "a harsh winter and widespread flooding have exacerbated the food shortage in the country, leaving millions of people on a knife edge."

13 Oct 2011

Study reveals new regulatory elements in human genome

An international research team led by Kerstin Lindblad-Toh at the Broad Institute, US and Uppsala University, Sweden has mapped and compared the genomes of 29 mammals. The findings, published in Nature, reveal millions of new regulatory elements in the human genome that in various ways govern how proteins are formed. The new knowledge is important for our understanding of how mutations in human genes give rise to diseases.

13 Oct 2011

Roundup: N.Y. health insurers seek to keep premium memos secret

Major health insurance companies seeking steep premium increases in New York have submitted memos to state officials to justify the higher rates. Now they are fighting to keep the memos from the public, saying they include trade secrets that competitors could use against them.

13 Oct 2011

Researchers design global plan for sustainable agriculture

The problem is stark: One billion people on earth don't have enough food right now. It's estimated that by 2050 there will be more than nine billion people living on the planet. Meanwhile, current agricultural practices are amongst the biggest threats to the global environment. This means that if we don't develop more sustainable practices, the planet will become even less able to feed its growing population than it is today.

13 Oct 2011

Mass. Medicaid waiver hits roadblock; N.Y. enrollment reaches 5 million

Politico reports that despite its health reform efforts, Massachusetts is having trouble getting the federal government to issue a waiver for Medicaid programs. The Wall Street Journal reports on the growing needs in New York.

13 Oct 2011

U of U researchers receive NIH grant to uncover viral cause of MS

A team of investigators from the University of Utah has received a two-year, $275,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to fund novel research that may help to uncover a viral cause for the most acute and severe form of multiple sclerosis.

13 Oct 2011

37 states, D.C. advance plans to improve health outcomes for dual eligibles

The states and D.C. are proposing demonstration projects to better coordinate and therefore improve care for an estimated 9 million people who fall into this category. States would receive a share of any resulting savings.

13 Oct 2011

SFDA approves China Medical Technologies' colorectal cancer assay

China Medical Technologies, Inc., a leading China-based advanced in-vitro diagnostic company, today announced that China's State Food and Drug Administration has approved the Company's real-time PCR-based V-Ki-ras2 Kirsten rat sarcoma viral oncogene homolog assay as a companion diagnostic test for the use of a targeted drug for the treatment of colorectal cancer patients.

13 Oct 2011

Abortion legislation scheduled for House consideration this week

Some observers say Republicans may have been better off trying to stay focused on this week's series of votes on "coveted trade deals," but an abortion-related bill is scheduled for a vote on Thursday.

13 Oct 2011

Narrow band imaging an equally effective alternative to chromoendoscopy for dysplasia

A new study from Spain finds that narrow band imaging appears to be a less time-consuming and equally effective alternative to chromoendoscopy for the detection of dysplasia (abnormal growths) in patients with long-standing inflammatory bowel disease.

13 Oct 2011

At debate, Romney offers spirited defense of Mass. health plan

At Tuesday night's GOP presidential hopeful face-off, former Mass. governor Mitt Romney was the focus of the other candidates, who criticized his economic policies and his state's health overhaul. But, having earned the endorsement of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie earlier in the day, he appears to be gaining momentum.

13 Oct 2011

Differences between LGBTQ and straight-identified youth in health outcomes, educational equity

New research findings reported in the October 2011 issue of Educational Researcher highlight differences between LGBTQ- and straight-identified youth in health outcomes and educational equity.

13 Oct 2011

Physicians continue press to fix payment formula

Physicians are turning to a formulaic but effective routine to persuade lawmakers to change a Medicare payment formula: The American Medical Association dispatched doctors from 23 states on Tuesday for Capitol Hill visits, four days after a two-week national ad campaign launched.

13 Oct 2011

Latest breakthroughs in lasers and optics to be discussed at 95th OSA meeting

Scientists and engineers from around the world will gather in the heart of Silicon Valley next week to discuss some of the latest breakthroughs in lasers and optics and their applications to cutting-edge science, the development of new materials, and medicine.

13 Oct 2011