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Health officials rule out sprouts as source of German E. coli outbreak

Health officials in Germany are continuing to search for the source of an E. coli outbreak after tests on suspected sprouts from a farm in the north of the country came back negative, Deutsche Welle reports. The outbreak has killed 22 people and sickened more than 2,000 (Hallam/Penfold, 6/6).

8 Jun 2011

Keeping kids safe and hydrated in hazardous heat

The national weather service is predicting heat indexes to be well above 100 degrees. Add kids playing outside and outdoor summer activities in full swing to the dangerous heat and you've got a hazardous combination.

8 Jun 2011

ACO defenders emerge as comment period ends

Deadline day arrived Monday for comments on Medicare's much-abused proposal for accountable care organizations. And supporters of the Obama administration championed its pro-patient provisions in the face of criticism from the health industry. Early industry feedback on the ACO rule focused on the expense and complexity it posed for hospitals, doctors and health organizations interested in teaming up to achieve higher quality, better patient care and lower costs.

8 Jun 2011

Avoiding repetitive activities that increase stress on the joints may prevent bursitis

As warm weather arrives and the great outdoors beckons, more and more men and women will be taking to the trails, the beaches, or their yards and gardens, embarking on physical activities that may result in sore, aching, swollen joints.

8 Jun 2011

Scientists discover four different bacteria that can live on caffeine

As it turns out, humans aren't the only organisms that turn to caffeine for a pick-me-up. University of Iowa scientists have identified four different bacteria that actually can live on caffeine.

8 Jun 2011

Mother's blueberry consumption can improve mammary gland health in offspring

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)-funded studies of mammary gland development in laboratory rats fed blueberries or other foods of interest may aid breast cancer research.

8 Jun 2011

McGill researcher develops speedier technique for predicting protein folding pathways

Protein folding has nothing to do with laundry. It is, in fact, one of the central questions in biochemistry. Protein folding is the continual and universal process whereby the long, coiled strings of amino acids that make up proteins in all living things fold into more complex three-dimensional structures.

8 Jun 2011

Apple peel reduces muscle atrophy and promotes muscle growth in mice

For Popeye, spinach was the key to extra muscle. For the mice in a new University of Iowa study, it was apples, or more precisely a waxy substance called ursolic acid that's found in apple peel.

8 Jun 2011

MSU professor to lead acetazolamide clinical trial on idiopathic intracranial hypertension

A rare but increasingly more common disease striking overweight, younger women is the focus of a clinical trial at Michigan State University, where an osteopathic physician is testing the effectiveness of a certain drug against a potentially blindness-causing ailment.

8 Jun 2011

Age does not affect testosterone level in healthy older men

A decline in testosterone levels as men grow older is likely the result—not the cause—of deteriorating general health, say Australian scientists, whose new study finds that age, in itself, has no effect on testosterone level in healthy older men.

8 Jun 2011

U.S. District Court rules in favor of Boston Scientific in PROMUS patent lawsuit

Boston Scientific Corporation today announced that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the decision of the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware, finding all four patents in a suit involving Johnson & Johnson to be invalid.

8 Jun 2011

Heart function may be affected in people with Type 2 diabetes as early as adolescence

Heart function may be affected in people with Type 2 diabetes as early as adolescence, according to a new study that will be presented Sunday at The Endocrine Society's 93rd Annual Meeting in Boston.

8 Jun 2011

BGI releases third version of assembled E. coli O104 genome

Scientists worldwide have been working on the publicly available genomic sequences of the deadly E. coli O104 strain, which is causing the current health crisis in Germany and now spreading throughout Europe. To continue to speed the ongoing international efforts of researchers to assess and halt this growing epidemic, BGI and their collaborators at the University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf have now released their third version of the assembled genome, which includes new data from this E. coli O104.

8 Jun 2011

NGOs support harm reduction declaration

Ahead of the U.N. High Level Meeting on AIDS, more than 200 international non-governmental organizations have pledged their support for the Beirut Declaration on HIV and Injecting Drug Use.

8 Jun 2011

Patient enrollment complete in BioMimetic's Augment Rotator Cuff pilot trial

BioMimetic Therapeutics, Inc., a biotechnology company specializing in the development and commercialization of innovative bioactive products to promote the healing of musculoskeletal injuries and diseases, reported today that, ahead of previously announced guidance, the Company completed enrollment of 30 patients in a pilot clinical trial to assess the safety and clinical utility of AugmentTM Rotator Cuff Graft for the repair of large rotator cuff tears.

8 Jun 2011

New neurons may take over six months to mature

New neurons take more than six months to mature in adult monkeys and that time is likely even longer in humans, according to researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, the University of Illinois, and Pennsylvania State University.

8 Jun 2011

CLC bio, AROS partner to provide 'Total Genomic Solutions'

Today, CLC bio announced its collaboration with one of the premier European service providers, GLP and GCP certified AROS Applied Biotechnology who specialize in Total Genomic Solutions, covering all steps from extraction, sample banking, and analysis, to advanced bioinformatics using CLC bio's enterprise platform.

8 Jun 2011

HP partners with nonprofit to help detect malaria outbreaks, improve health monitoring in Botswana

Hewlett-Packard on Monday announced it will provide "smartphones and cloud computing technology to nonprofit group Positive Innovation for the Next Generation (PING)" to help improve health monitoring and malaria detection in Botswana, Venture Beat reports.

8 Jun 2011

Overweight increases risk of liver cirrhosis in men

Overweight carries a greatly increased risk of cirrhosis of the liver in men, reveals a new study from the Sahlgrenska Academy. "Given the increasing problem of overweight in Sweden, there is reason to fear that more people will develop cirrhosis of the liver," says Jerzy Kaczynski, docent at the University of Gothenburg and doctor at Sahlgrenska University Hospital.

8 Jun 2011

UH environmental engineer to test parts of Galveston Bay for dioxins and PCBs

A University of Houston environmental engineer will test parts of Galveston Bay for toxic chemicals in an effort to help state officials determine the best way to handle those pollutants.

8 Jun 2011