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Customized surfaces help reveal protein clumping process linked with Alzheimer's, diabetes

When normal proteins form protein clumps in the body, then alarm bells start ringing. Such clumps, called "amyloids," are closely associated with Alzheimer's disease and type 2 diabetes, formerly called adult-onset diabetes.

29 Jul 2011

UK MRC, Humabs discover first neutralizing antibody that targets all influenza A subtypes

A paper published today in the scientific research journal Science, describes a novel, proprietary monoclonal antibody (FI6) discovered in a collaboration between Humabs BioMed SA, the Institute for Research in Biomedicine and the UK Medical Research Council.

29 Jul 2011

Hospice services improve quality of care and support for dementia patients

Hospice services substantially improved the provision of care and support for nursing home patients dying of dementia and their families, according to an analysis of survey responses from hundreds of bereaved family members.

29 Jul 2011

Magellan reports second quarter net revenue of $698.3 million

Magellan Health Services Inc. today reported financial results for the second quarter of 2011, as summarized below. For the quarter ended June 30, 2011, the company reported net revenue of $698.3 million, segment profit of $75.9 million, and net income of $34.2 million or $1.07 per diluted common share.

29 Jul 2011

French maternal and child health clinics threatened by poor economy

NPR's KQED on Wednesday examined how France's 60-year-old network of preventive health clinics for children and parents, which provides care free-of-charge, is being threatened by the nation's flailing economy.

29 Jul 2011

Coventry Health Care second quarter operating revenues increase 6% to $3.0 billion

Coventry Health Care, Inc. today reported consolidated operating results for the quarter ended June 30, 2011.

29 Jul 2011

MSNBC's Chris Matthews interviews NIAID head Anthony Fauci

The Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog features video of an interview of Anthony Fauci, director of the NIH National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, that was conducted by MSNBC "Hardball" host Chris Matthews at a Capitol Hill briefing on Tuesday, which was hosted by the Foundation for AIDS Research.

29 Jul 2011

NanoString introduces new assay for leukemia fusion gene analysis

NanoString Technologies, Inc., a privately held provider of life science tools for translational research and developer of molecular diagnostics, today announced the availability of a comprehensive multiplexed assay for the simple and cost-effective analysis of fusion genes linked to leukemia.

From NanoString Technologies 29 Jul 2011

Cholera in Congo has killed 279, infected more than 4,000 people

A UNICEF official says a cholera outbreak in Congo has killed 279 people and infected more than 4,000 others in the last four months," the Associated Press/Washington Post reports.

29 Jul 2011

New tool can effectively determine likelihood of drugs in the environment

Most synthetic chemical products used in consumer goods end up unchanged in the environment. Given the risks this could pose for the environment and human health, researchers from the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) have developed a new tool to effectively predict what will happen to current and future pharmaceutical products.

29 Jul 2011

Veterans' health care costs are a big part of federal budget

Though the withdrawal of American military forces from Iraq and Afghanistan will save the nation billions of dollars a year, another cost of war is projected to continue rising for decades to come: caring for the veterans.

29 Jul 2011

Case studies examine principles of health care delivery in resource-poor settings

Today, the Global Health Delivery Project and Harvard Business Publishing released 21 teaching case studies examining the principles of health care delivery in resource-poor settings.

29 Jul 2011

Federal judge upholds Obama rule on stem cell research

A U.S. judge Wednesday upheld the government rules that allow federal funding of human embryonic stem cell research that might lead to cures for deadly diseases affecting millions of Americans.

29 Jul 2011

Male circumcision may reduce HPV-associated penile precancerous lesions

A University of North Carolina-led international study shows that among Kenyan men, circumcision is associated with a lower prevalence of human papillomavirus-associated precancerous lesions of the penis.

29 Jul 2011

Debt-ceiling pressure increases as deadline approaches

News outlets report that states are getting more nervous and are taking steps to prepare for the loss in federal dollars. Meanwhile, in the background, political maneuvering surrounding Medicare and Medicaid continues.

29 Jul 2011

WSU professor receives NIH grant for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease research

Kezhong Zhang, Ph.D., assistant professor of molecular medicine and genetics and of immunology and microbiology in the School of Medicine at Wayne State University, was awarded $1.7 million by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases of the National Institutes of Health to explore how molecular elements in the body regulate the development of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

29 Jul 2011

Kansas Health IT officials get first big test; Utah faces digital incompatibility

The state hospital association has asked the Kansas Information Exchange to probe pricing structures of electronic health record vendors, the Kansas Health Institute News reports.

29 Jul 2011

Grapes help protect skin cells from sun's UV radiation

Some compounds found in grapes help to protect skin cells from the sun's ultraviolet radiation, according to a study by researchers from the University of Barcelona and the CSIC.

29 Jul 2011

States struggle with exchange planning; more guidance from feds coming soon

States that didn't create an insurance exchange this year say they're now facing a time crunch that requires them to push the entire process forward at once. Governors in 10 states have signed laws authorizing an exchange — the new insurance marketplaces created by health care reform.

29 Jul 2011

'Systems biology' study of breast cancer

Using a "systems biology" approach - which focuses on understanding the complex relationships between biological systems - to look under the hood of an aggressive form of breast cancer, researchers for the first time have identified a set of proteins in the blood that change in abundance long before the cancer is clinically detectable.

29 Jul 2011