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Information and communications technology revolution in the developing world

Charles Ebikeme, a writer who "has worked for many years as a research scientist on African sleeping sickness" examines a health revolution in information and communications technology (ICT) taking place across the developing world in this "End the Neglect" blog post, writing, "The initial concept of telemedicine now spans a wide spectrum of applications, labels, contexts, and platforms."

3 Sep 2011

Novel analysis of MRI scans reveals distinct features of autistic brain

Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital have used a novel method for analyzing brain-scan data to distinguish children with autism from typically developing children.

3 Sep 2011

OMB projects slower growth in Medicare, Medicaid spending, but with a caveat

Federal spending on the nation's two main health care programs, Medicare and Medicaid, is projected to grow less than expected over the next decade, according to new estimates released Thursday by the White House. That's because the federal government has been paying less than expected in benefits - but the new estimates also assume cuts in doctors' payments that probably aren't going to happen.

3 Sep 2011

Nature journal publishes Metabolon's genome wide association study

Metabolon, Inc., the leader in metabolomics, biomarker discovery and biochemical analysis, announced the publication of "Human Metabolic Individuality in Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Research" in the journal Nature.

3 Sep 2011

WHO African region member states have challenges to meet MDGs, WHO/AFRO Director says

Speaking at the 61st session of the WHO Regional Office for Africa (AFRO) in Yamoussoukro, Cote d'Ivoire, on Thursday, African Regional Director of WHO Luis Sambo said "that 46 Africa member countries still had remarkable challenges to scale before meeting the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)," Nigeria's The Nation reports.

3 Sep 2011

First report of alternative lengthening of telomeres in human cancer subtypes

The first report of the presence of alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT) in cancers arising from the bladder, cervix, endometrium, esophagus, gallbladder, liver, and lung was published today in The American Journal of Pathology. The presence of ALT in carcinomas can be used as a diagnostic marker and has implications for the development of anti-cancer drug therapies.

3 Sep 2011

State roundup: Texas disability fight; rights of fetus asserted in Neb.

For Milla Powell, a 12-year-old from Austin with cerebral palsy, the little things make all the difference. Massage therapy to ease her tightened muscles. Recreational programs, in which therapists take her into the community to help her build her social skills. Music therapy to help Milla, who cannot speak, connect without words. But services like these are on the chopping block for thousands of Texans with disabilities - another casualty of the significant budget cuts that state lawmakers passed in May.

3 Sep 2011

SAMHSA to unveil results of 2010 National Survey on Drug Use and Health

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) will unveil the results of the latest (2010) National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) at a press conference on Thursday, September 8.

3 Sep 2011

PEPFAR releases Guidance for the Prevention of Sexually Transmitted HIV Infections

"The Office of the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator released the U.S President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) Guidance for the Prevention of Sexually Transmitted HIV Infections this week," a "50-plus page document intended to 'assist PEPFAR country teams in developing Country Operational Plans (COPs) that align activities to prevent sexual transmission of HIV with country-specific epidemiology and country-owned responses,' according to the introduction statement," the Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog writes.

3 Sep 2011

Study finds link between long-term dietary patterns and human gut bacteria

"You are what you eat" is familiar enough, but how deep do the implications go? An interdisciplinary group of investigators from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have found an association between long-term dietary patterns and the bacteria of the human gut.

3 Sep 2011

New study finds 9/11 firefighters have higher risks of cancer

Research published in the Lancet suggests that the firefighters who were at the World Trade Center are 19 percent more likely to get cancer than those who were not there.

3 Sep 2011

Six Lifeline crisis centers to develop follow-up services for people at high risk of suicide

Six crisis centers affiliated with the Nation's Suicide Prevention Lifeline, funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) received grant awards to develop follow-up services for those at high risk of dying by suicide.

3 Sep 2011

Mississippi challenge to health law will move forward

Elsewhere, the Washington state attorney general gets approval from his state's supreme court for joining with other AGs to challenge the law.

3 Sep 2011

Early treatment of chronic hip pain in young athletes may have long term impact on health

Treating young athletes with chronic hip pain may be the key to slowing or halting the progression of degenerative hip disease.

3 Sep 2011

Finland national health institute finds link between H1N1 flu vaccine and children's narcolepsy

"Finland's national health institute said on Thursday its latest research on previously found links between children's narcolepsy and GlaxoSmithKline's Pandemrix vaccine against H1N1 swine flu also involved a genetic risk factor," Reuters reports.

3 Sep 2011

Exercise triggers influential stem cells to become bone instead of fat

McMaster researchers have found one more reason to exercise: working out triggers influential stem cells to become bone instead of fat, improving overall health by boosting the body's capacity to make blood.

3 Sep 2011

In research world, Walter Reed fights malaria while new facility seeks to prevent medical errors

Most people know "the Walter Reed" as a mammoth military medical center in Washington, D.C., where both U.S. presidents and ordinary war-wounded soldiers get their care. But the center's Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, housed for the past decade on its own campus in Maryland, just outside Washington, is one of the world's premier research centers for infectious diseases.

3 Sep 2011

Scientists uncover one of the benefits of non-monogamous relationships

It's all about the grandkids! That's what a team led by an Indiana University biologist has learned about promiscuous female birds and why they mate outside their social pair.

3 Sep 2011

Plerixafor drug shows promise against WHIM syndrome

A new study reports that a drug already approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use in patients undergoing a bone marrow transplant may also have promise for treating people who have a rare immune deficiency known as WHIM syndrome.

3 Sep 2011

NPR examines legacy of Walter Reed Army Medical Center's Institute of Research in battle against malaria

"As the Walter Reed Army Medical Center decamps from its D.C. campus this month and merges with the Bethesda Naval Hospital five miles away," NPR reports on the legacy of "the center's Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, housed for the past decade on its own campus in Maryland, just outside Washington, as one of the world's premier research centers for infectious diseases."

3 Sep 2011