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ICTs play a major role in the health care sector

Today the GridTalk project launches its 8th GridBriefing at the Enabling Grids for E-sciencE (EGEE) conference in Barcelona. The report covers how information and communication technologies (ICTs), particularly computing grids, are used in the health and biomedical sectors of European research. EGEE has supported this research community since the project's birth and it is the second largest user group after physics research.

21 Sep 2009

Rural Coloradans have trouble getting health care, attracting physicians

Rural Coloradans often have to travel dozens — if not hundreds — of miles to see a doctor when they're ill. The Denver Post reports that "(i)t's a problem that worsens every year — and something rural health advocates are hoping national reform will fix. The major goal of reform is to add some 47 million uninsured Americans, including about 800,000 Coloradans, to the ranks of the insured."

21 Sep 2009

Sorrento Therapeutics merge with subsidiary of Quikbyte Software

Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc. ("STI"), a privately-held and development-stage biopharmaceutical company with a proprietary technology platform for the discovery and development of human therapeutic antibodies for the treatment of a variety of disease conditions, has merged with a wholly-owned subsidiary of QuikByte Software, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: QBSW), a publicly-traded company with no active operations.

21 Sep 2009

Differences between two types of integrins

The adhesion of cells to the various components of their environment is mediated mainly by molecules known as integrins. Two integrins, α5β1 and αvβ3, mediate adhesion with fibronectin, which is present in the extracellular matrix. But why are 2 molecules involved in the adhesion to a single extracellular component? An article published on-line in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), whose main author is Pere Roca-Cusachs, an IBEC researcher, offers the first experimental answer to this question.

21 Sep 2009

Lawmakers wonder if the Baucus Plan does enough to control premiums

Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers fear a new plan unveiled by Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., could impose added costs on middle-class people in the form of higher health insurance premiums, a problem they will seek to mitigate, The Washington Post reports: "Some Senate Democrats, along with a key moderate Republican, Sen. Olympia J. Snowe (Maine), are now discussing ways to increase assistance for individuals and families who could face premium costs of up to $15,000 per year by 2016.

21 Sep 2009

Nasdaq issues deficiency notice to TeamStaff

TeamStaff, Inc. (Nasdaq: TSTF), a national provider of healthcare and administrative staffing services, today announced that on September 15, 2009, it received a notice from the Listing Qualifications Department of The Nasdaq Global Market (Nasdaq) stating that for the last 30 consecutive trading days, the Company's common stock has not maintained a minimum market value of publicly held shares of $5,000,000, as required by the continued listing requirements of the Nasdaq Global Market set forth in Listing Rule 5450(b)(1)(C) (the "Listing Rule").

21 Sep 2009

Opinion piece examines vacant USAID administrator position

The Obama administration "has yet to announce a candidate to head" USAID, despite the talk "about how super-important foreign assistance is these days," columnist Al Kamen writes in a Washington Post opinion piece examining the vacant USAID administrator position.

21 Sep 2009

Governors worry about major Medicaid expansion

The GOP fears the burden of a health care overhaul on states, Roll Call reports: "Senate Republicans joined with GOP governors on Thursday and harshly criticized Finance Chairman Max Baucus' (D-Mont.) health care plan, charging the bill would expand Medicaid while forcing a massive unfunded mandate on cash-strapped states. Republicans have criticized the bill for using the Medicaid system, which is partially funded by states and partially by the federal government, as a way to ensure greater health care coverage for Americans" (Stanton, 9/17).

21 Sep 2009

Identification of nitric oxide using lasers and sensors

Nitric oxide, a gas well known to scientists for its myriad functions, has proven challenging to measure accurately outside the laboratory. A team of Princeton and Rice University researchers has demonstrated a new method of identifying the gas using lasers and sensors that are inexpensive, compact and highly sensitive. Such a portable device, suitable for large-scale deployment, could be of great value to atmospheric science, pollution control, biology and medicine.

21 Sep 2009

RAM Technologies' health care suite helps health plans to reduce expenses

Today's economic conditions coupled with the anticipated impacts of health insurance reform are forcing health plans to find ways to reduce expenses. RAM Technologies, Inc., a leading developer of software applications for health care payers, enables health plans to reduce expenses with the cost saving features of their health care administrative solution suite HEALTHsuite(R) and eHealthsuite(TM).

21 Sep 2009

AFib ablated using visually-guided laser balloon catheter

Physicians at The Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York became the first in the U.S. to ablate atrial fibrillation using a visually-guided laser balloon catheter.

21 Sep 2009

Sound off: some lawmakers talking up Baucus Bill, Grassley 'resents' President's remarks

Some lawmakers are touting the Baucus bill's potential and bickering among themselves and the White House about how reform plans are taking shape.

21 Sep 2009

Kenya to launch measles vaccine campaign

The Kenya Ministry of Public Health on Saturday will launch a $1.8 million measles vaccination campaign targeting "1.3 million children who have not been vaccinated against the disease since July 2006," Business Daily Africa reports.

21 Sep 2009

Obama blankets airwaves to push for health reform

President Barack Obama's blitz across the Sunday talk shows to advocate for health overhaul legislation dominates news coverage today.

21 Sep 2009

Praxair China installs NCOOL system at Shanghai Pharmaceutical

Praxair China has installed its NCOOL™ cryogenic heat exchanger system at Shanghai The First Biochemical & Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., an affiliate of Shanghai Pharmaceutical (Group) Ltd. This is the first liquid nitrogen supply contract that Praxair China has signed that employs Praxair’s patented NCOOL cryogenic heat exchanger system in a pharmaceutical freeze dryer.

21 Sep 2009

Home-help staff may break rules for their patients

A new thesis from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, reveals that out of loyalty to the people for whom they provide care, groups of home-help staff sometimes break the rules dictating how their work should be performed.

21 Sep 2009

Iodinated, Gadolinium based contrast agents do not negatively affect patients

Iodinated and Gadolinium based contrast agents, frequently used during computed tomography (CT) and MRI scans to aid in the imaging process, are associated with a very low rate of adverse effects, according to a large cohort study published in the October issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology (AJR).

21 Sep 2009

Health policy experts urge Congress to abandon ideological differences on overhaul

Kaiser Health News reports that a group of "leading economists, analysts and health care administrators" are urging lawmakers to set aside ideological differences and take "action to create broad based changes in the nation's health care system."

21 Sep 2009

CT-guided tube pericardiostomy, an effective treatment for pericardial effusion

Pericardial effusion, the collection of fluid around the heart, typically occurs in patients following heart surgery and is usually treated using an invasive surgical drainage technique. However researchers have discovered that a minimally invasive procedure called CT-guided tube pericardiostomy is just as effective - requiring no recovery time, fewer resources, and provides an 89 percent cost savings over the surgical drainage technique, according to a study published in the October issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology (AJR).

21 Sep 2009

Bioniche Life Sciences' revenue increases by 21% for the fiscal year 2009

Bioniche Life Sciences Inc. (TSX: BNC), a research-based, technology-driven Canadian biopharmaceutical company, today announced financial results for its 2009 fiscal year ended June 30, 2009.

21 Sep 2009