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Scientists add four proteins to skin cells to create functional neurons

The New York Stem Cell Foundation - a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing cures for major diseases through stem cell research - today applauded the announcement by Stanford University scientists, led by NYSCF - Robertson Investigator Dr. Marius Wernig, that they directly converted skin cells of humans into functional neurons.

27 May 2011

Viewpoints: Medicare controversy continues to raise outrage, prescriptions, vivid prose

The key to any reform is tackling the whole problem, not just one piece — like health care spending by the federal government, for example, or even the public sector as a whole. Unless spending on health care is curbed systemwide, federal reforms run the risk of just shifting skyrocketing costs to those least able to handle this added burden.

27 May 2011

Bacteria that infect cystic fibrosis patients could help combat MRSA

A bacteria which infects people with cystic fibrosis could help combat other antibiotic-resistant microbes, according to a team from Cardiff and Warwick Universities.

27 May 2011

In aftermath of Dem's upset special election, will budget balancers now set sights on Medicaid?

Not that there was much doubt left, but Tuesday's uphill victory by Democrat Kathy Hochul in a special election in a New York congressional district long dominated by the GOP has made it pretty clear that the budget blueprint approved by House Republicans last month, which would effectively privatize Medicare, isn't so popular with lots of actual voters.

27 May 2011

OPINION: U.S. must do more on global food security

"Washington cannot allow food insecurity to exacerbate instability in already volatile regions. We are not doing all that must be done," Catherine Bertini, a former executive director of the U.N. World Food Program, and Dan Glickman, a former agriculture secretary, write in Politico.

27 May 2011

Interim analysis of AIM-HIGH study affirms positive impact of Niaspan on HDL and triglyceride lipid values

The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI), a division of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), disclosed results from an interim analysis of the AIM-HIGH clinical trial.

27 May 2011

AP examines debate over India's poverty line

The Associated Press examines the debate over the poverty line in India, noting that a commission that helps set the country's economic policy told the Supreme Court earlier this month that the poverty line in cities was 578 rupees ($12.75) per person per month, and about 450 rupees ($9.93) per person per month for rural areas.

27 May 2011

Stem cell pluripotency depends on E-cadherin molecule

Researchers of the Max Delbr-ck Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch have discovered what enables embryonic stem cells to differentiate into diverse cell types and thus to be pluripotent. This pluripotency depends on a specific molecule - E-cadherin - hitherto primarily known for its role in mediating cell-cell adhesion as a kind of "intracellular glue".

27 May 2011

Recent releases in Global Health

As the G8 summit began in Deauville, France, on Thursday, David Olson, the council's director of policy communications, wrote on the Global Health Council's "Blog 4 Global Health" that "global health is nowhere visible on the agenda," which "is in striking contrast to the final communique of the G8 Muskoka, which devoted a significant amount of space to health" (5/26).

27 May 2011

Appointment of drug company to GAVI board draws criticism from NGOs

The appointment of Dutch pharmaceutical company Crucell, recently acquired by Johnson & Johnson, to the board of the GAVI Alliance is "sparking concerns over conflicts of interest and demands for tougher competition to reduce prices," the Financial Times reports.

27 May 2011

NIH awards $2.4 million, five-year grant for research on dementia and delirium

Adults with dementia and delirium may soon have a way to combat their delirium, thanks to a $2.4 million, five-year grant from the National Institutes of Health.

27 May 2011

Obama, Medvedev reaffirm efforts to eradicate polio ahead of G8 summit

President Barack Obama met with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in Deauville, France, ahead of the G8 summit, ABC News' "Political Punch" blog reports. "The two issued a number of joint statements and agreements on counterterrorism, civil aviation security, visa issues, the Bering Strait region, a joint report assessing 21st Century Missile Challenges, innovation, the rule of law, smart grid partnership, eradicating polio, and medical research," according to the blog.

27 May 2011

OPINION: Aid for women farmers is a worthy investment

In a piece on The Hill's "Congress Blog," Eva Clayton, a former Democratic member of Congress from North Carolina and assistant director general of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization between 2003 and 2006, calls on the World Bank to invest more in women farmers in the developing world, after the agency "largely ignored the role women and small entrepreneurs can play in the developing world to improve food security" at an April 2011 meeting.

27 May 2011

Brazilian Court denies claims for indemnification for damages attributed to smoking cigarettes

The judge of the 19th Civil Court of Sao Paulo denied the claims for indemnification brought by the Association for the Defence of the Health of Smokers (ADESF) in a class action suit filed against cigarette manufacturers Souza Cruz and Philip Morris Brasil that, according to the plaintiff, was evaluated at more than R$ 30 billion (US$ 18.4 billion).

27 May 2011

Gov. Shumlin signs law putting Vermont on path to single-payer system

Gov. Peter Shumlin signed a bill on Thursday that sets Vermont on a path to creating the nation's first publicly financed health care. The law calls for something close to a single-payer system, with doctors and hospitals billing one entity, the state government, for their services.

27 May 2011

First Medicare Meaningful Use incentive dollars issued to physicians using athenahealth EHR

athenahealth, Inc., the leading provider of cloud-based practice management, electronic health record (EHR), and patient communication services to medical groups, today announced that the first Medicare Meaningful Use incentive payment dollars have been issued to its physician clients using athenaClinicals®, the company's EHR offering.

27 May 2011

Dynamics in the health care system trigger ACO concerns

The traditional wariness that exists between doctors and hospitals, as well as worries related to anti-trust issues, raise questions about which players have the advantage as the specifics regarding accountable care organizations take shape. Meanwhile, ACOs finally have an advocate.

27 May 2011

New ways to replicate what happens to stents tucked inside blood vessels

If by chance you should have a stent inserted in a clogged coronary artery, you can probably count on it staying around for a very long time. So it's important to know what will happen to it.

27 May 2011

Proposed rule for health law's CLASS Act expected in October

Federal officials plan to issue a proposed rule in October that will make major changes to the controversial Community Living Assistance Services and Support (CLASS) program, Assistant Secretary for Aging Kathy Greenlee said Thursday.

27 May 2011

AHRQ: 39,000 school-age children treated for sports-related concussions at emergency departments

About 39,000 school-age children were treated for sports-related concussions at hospital emergency departments in 2008 - approximately 90 percent of all emergency visits for that condition, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

27 May 2011