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Engineers work to design prosthetic arm that allows amputees to feel what they touch

Engineering researchers at four U.S. universities are embarking on a four-year project to design a prosthetic arm that amputees can control directly with their brains and that will allow them to feel what they touch.

28 Jul 2011

Two large insurers profit by Americans' postponement of care

WellPoint Inc and Aetna Inc , the second and third-biggest U.S. health insurers by market value, are set to report second-quarter earnings on Wednesday that will likely be helped by Americans avoiding doctor visits and delaying medical procedures. The industry has benefited from Americans postponing such care during the weak economy.

28 Jul 2011

Sorin Group's Mitroflow valve with PRT receives CE Mark approval

Sorin Group,, a global medical company and a leader in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, announced today that it received the CE Mark approval for the Mitroflow Aortic Pericardial Heart Valve with PRT.

28 Jul 2011

Quality Systems first quarter net revenues increase 21% to $100.4 million

Quality Systems, Inc. announced today results for its fiscal 2012 first quarter ended June 30, 2011.

28 Jul 2011

Law center presses its health law challenge

"The Thomas Moore Law Center formally asked the Supreme Court Tuesday to reverse an appeals court decision upholding the health care reform law. Marking the first appeal of its kind to reach the nation's highest court, the conservative legal group continues to insist the mandate requiring all Americans to purchase health insurance is unconstitutional".

28 Jul 2011

Mitochondrial genome undergoes random reorganisation during reprogramming

Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) are truly talented multi-taskers. They can reproduce almost all cell types and thus offer great hope in the fight against diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. However, it would appear that their use is not entirely without risk: during the reprogramming of body cells into iPS cells, disease-causing mutations can creep into the genetic material.

28 Jul 2011

Pharmaceutical companies' profit protection hurts global AIDS fight

In her latest piece on the New York Times' "Opinionator" blog, author and journalist Tina Rosenberg argues that the terms of Gilead's recent agreement with the Medicines Patent Pool is "confirmation of a dangerous new trend: middle-income countries as a target market for drug makers."

28 Jul 2011

Scientists show how RET gene in breast cancer cells responds to estrogen

Using human breast cancer cells and the protein that causes fireflies to glow, a Johns Hopkins team has shed light on why some breast cancer cells become resistant to the anticancer effects of the drug tamoxifen. The key is a discovery of two genetic "dimmer switches" that apparently control how a breast cancer gene responds to the female hormone estrogen.

28 Jul 2011

Bill introduced to increase Medigap MLR

The AARP endorsed the measure, introduced in both the House and Senate, which in 2014 would require Medigap insurers to spend 85 percent of every premium dollar in the group market on medical care.

28 Jul 2011

Reprogrammed kidney cells could make transplants and dialysis things of the past

Approximately 60 million people across the globe have chronic kidney disease (CKD), and many will need dialysis or a transplant. Breakthrough research published in the Journal of the American Society Nephrology indicates that patients' own kidney cells can be gathered and reprogrammed.

28 Jul 2011

Boehner plan faces delay as debt deal continues to be elusive

The delay was caused both by a Congressional Budget Office analysis that found the proposal by House Speaker John Boehner didn't score the promised savings and by conservatives' skepticism about the plan.

28 Jul 2011

Ironwood licenses worldwide rights to Depomed's Acuform drug delivery technology

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Depomed, Inc. today announced that Ironwood has licensed worldwide rights to utilize Depomed's Acuform gastric retentive drug delivery technology for an Ironwood early stage development program, continuing Ironwood's efforts to augment its development pipeline beyond linaclotide.

28 Jul 2011

Consumers would pay more for insurance that caters to their needs

Almost half of insurance customers would be willing to pay more for health insurance that caters to their needs, according to a new report from the consulting firm Accenture.

28 Jul 2011

Researchers identify gene linked to Lesch-Nyhan disease

In humans, inherited mutations in a gene called HPRT1 lead to very specific self-destructive behavior. Boys with Lesch-Nyhan disease experience uncontrollable urges to bite their fingers, slam their arms into doorways and otherwise harm themselves.

28 Jul 2011

New study finds home setting nurtures better food choices

Can a cozy dining table and nice music prompt people to reach for the greens and go light on dessert? So suggests a new study probing why people tend to eat more-nutritious meals at home than away from home. The findings, based on data from 160 women who reported their emotional states before and after meals, add to mounting evidence that psychological factors may help override humans' wired-in preference for high-fat, sugary foods.

28 Jul 2011

CIA's use of vaccine program to hunt Bin Laden hurt U.S. health diplomacy

The incoming C.I.A. director, David Petraeus, ought to impose clear restrictions and prohibitions on medically oriented spy tactics so that the integrity and humanitarian purpose of U.S. health aid are affirmed and that current and future health aid operations will not be misused," Jack Chow, a former U.S. global AIDS ambassador and assistant director-general of the WHO, writes in a New York Times opinion piece responding to reports that the U.S. used a vaccination campaign in Pakistan to help locate and kill Osama bin Laden.

28 Jul 2011

Study finds harmful haloacetic acids in the urine of pool workers, swimmers

The first scientific measurements in humans show that potentially harmful haloacetic acids (HAAs) appear in the urine of swimmers within 30 minutes after exposure to chlorinated water where HAAs form as a byproduct of that water disinfection method.

28 Jul 2011

India plans to establish central foreign aid agency to fight corruption, cut costs

India plans to establish a central foreign aid agency, "believed to be modeled on" USAID, "to prevent funds from being misused and delays in aid delivery," the Guardian reports. "The agency will reportedly be called the Indian Agency for Partnership in Development, overseeing $11.3bn over the next five to seven years," the newspaper writes.

28 Jul 2011

Hip and knee replacement surgery linked to increased risk of clot development

When tennis star Serena Williams underwent emergency treatment for a pulmonary embolism earlier this year, the world's attention was drawn to this often fatal medical condition which, although surprisingly not uncommon, is unfamiliar to most men and women.

28 Jul 2011

New report is setback for 9/11 responders and cancer costs

The report concluded that medical research does not prove that those working at the World Trade Center disaster site have an increased risk of developing certain forms of cancer.

28 Jul 2011