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Many women give birth in Haiti's tent camps without medical services

In the refugee camps in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince nearly two years after a devastating earthquake, "health and human rights officials warn of another crisis: an explosion of tent babies," the Miami Herald reports.

31 Aug 2011

Nova Southeastern University's medical school plans to expand residency programs

Nova Southeastern University's (NSU) medical school announced plans to expand its affiliated residency programs following recent Congressional legislation to increase the number of residency spots in Florida.

31 Aug 2011

Poll: Understanding of health law slipping — especially among uninsured

The poll also shows that, among people with employer-sponsored health insurance, very few respondents would accept changes - such as a more restricted list of doctors or hospitals - to their current coverage levels.

31 Aug 2011

Gene variants can cut risk of Parkinson's disease

An international team of researchers led by neuroscientists at Mayo Clinic in Florida has found a genetic variation they say protects against Parkinson's disease. The gene variants cut the risk of developing the disease by nearly 20 percent in many populations.

31 Aug 2011

Erratic weather exacerbates food insecurity in Indonesia's eastern province

"Erratic weather has exacerbated food insecurity in one of Indonesia's driest regions," including the districts of West Timor (TTS), Nusa Tengarra Timor (NTT), and North Central Timor (TTU), "leaving farmers and families hoping for the best as October's planting season approaches," IRIN reports.

31 Aug 2011

Study shows marked gender differences in the use of suicide methods

Women who commit suicide are more likely than men to avoid facial disfiguration, but not necessarily in the name of vanity. Valerie Callanan from the University of Akron and Mark Davis from the Criminal Justice Research Center at the Ohio State University, USA, show that there are marked gender differences in the use of suicide methods that disfigure the face or head.

31 Aug 2011

Cost of second-line ARVs a 'huge barrier to care' in resource-poor countries

In this U.N. Dispatch blog post, Mark Leon Goldberg, managing editor of the blog, examines the costs of second-line antiretroviral treatments (ARVs), which "are several orders of magnitude more expensive than traditional, first-line ARV treatments" and are a "huge barrier to providing care" for resource-poor countries.

31 Aug 2011

New minimally invasive technique now a feasible option to treat scoliosis in teenagers

Minimally invasive surgery to treat scoliosis in teenagers is now a "feasible option," according to Vishal Sarwahi, MD, Director of Spine Deformity Surgery at Montefiore Medical Center.

31 Aug 2011

CWRU, NeoProteomics sign licensing deal for four bioinformatics software programs

Case Western Reserve University and NeoProteomics Inc. have announced the university's licensing of four software programs designed to improve understanding of biology at a complex molecular level for improved treatment of cancers and various other diseases.

31 Aug 2011

Creighton pharmacology professor receives AAF's Early Excellence Award

Yaping Tu, Ph.D., associate professor of pharmacology at Creighton University School of Medicine, has received a $450,000 Early Excellence Award from the American Asthma Foundation.

31 Aug 2011

UCLA develops dual-mode microscope that uses holograms instead of lenses

To serve remote areas of the world, doctors, nurses and field workers need equipment that is portable, versatile, and relatively inexpensive. Now researchers at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) have built a compact, light-weight, dual-mode microscope that uses holograms instead of lenses.

31 Aug 2011

Aid floods into Tripoli, hospitals reopen as fighting ends in Libya's capital city

"Tripoli's hospitals have put the worst behind them after an end to the fighting in Libya's capital opened the way to a flood of aid and enabled medical staff to get back to work, aid agencies said on Monday," Reuters reports, adding, "Although the violence in Tripoli has not completely ended, the relative peace has reassured aid agencies that they can now get into the capital."

31 Aug 2011

Sweat meter could alert diabetes patients about low blood sugar

Some diabetic patients receive no warning before they pass out from low blood sugar. A modern sweat meter could alert patients in time. Biathletes and ME patients might also benefit from the sweat meter.

31 Aug 2011

Symptom-based viral load testing detects HIV in MSM

Testing for HIV when flu-like symptoms develop may offer a cost-effective alternative for early detection of HIV infection in men who have sex with men (MSM), reports a study in the journal AIDS.

31 Aug 2011

Age-related declines in hearing may accelerate brain atrophy

A new study by researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania shows that declines in hearing ability may accelerate gray mater atrophy in auditory areas of the brain and increase the listening effort necessary for older adults to successfully comprehend speech.

31 Aug 2011

New innovations in plant biotechnology could bring hope for patients with Celiac disease

From medicine and food to energy and agriculture, bio-based innovations are in great demand, providing new solutions to the challenges faced by societies in the 21st century. New innovations in plant biotechnology, such as the development of gluten-free wheat, could bring hope to those suffering from Celiac disease. On a global scale, as the world population nears seven billion people, biotechnology plays an increasing role in plant health and thereby, human food supplies.

31 Aug 2011

Scientists using molecular epidemiology to diagnose and track disease outbreaks

The New York Times examines "new methods of quickly sequencing entire microbial genomes that are revolutionizing the field" of molecularly epidemiology and could help public health officials identify and track disease outbreaks.

31 Aug 2011

Four-step plan for allergy sufferers to improve quality of life

While most of us acknowledge the need to see a doctor and take antibiotics for, say, strep throat, many of us attempt to power through when it comes to allergies. Whether we take pride in toughing it out, put off making a doctor's appointment, or simply assume allergies will go away quickly on their own, many of us suffer unnecessarily, a Saint Louis University allergist says.

31 Aug 2011

Blurred vision impairs spatial cognition in fall-prone older adults

Among older adults, falls are a common problem. About one-third of those over age 65 fall once each year. Visual information helps us to coordinate our movements so that we can successfully navigate our surroundings. In fall-prone older adults, however, the ability to collect visual information is compromised, and this group is not adequately compensating for this effect.

31 Aug 2011

Parental stress strongly associated with DNA methylation in children

Researchers at the University of British Columbia and the Child & Family Research Institute have shown that parental stress during their children's early years can leave an imprint on their sons' or daughters' genes - an imprint that lasts into adolescence and may affect how these genes are expressed later in life.

31 Aug 2011