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Carnosine may help prevent, treat cataracts

Researchers are reporting evidence from tissue culture experiments that the popular dietary supplement carnosine may help to prevent and treat cataracts, a clouding of the lens of the eye that is a leading cause of vision loss worldwide.

15 Jul 2009

Research sheds light on social brain development

The capacity to figure out what others are thinking and what they mean is an ability unique to people that's central to our lives. A new study on the neural mechanisms that govern these abilities sheds light on the relation between how people and groups interact, on the one hand, and how the brain develops and functions, on the other.

15 Jul 2009

Scientists report new process for producing potentially safer form of acetaminophen

Scientists in Louisiana are reporting development of a process for producing large batches of a new and potentially safer form of acetaminophen, the widely used pain-reliever now the source of growing concern over its potentially toxic effects on the liver.

15 Jul 2009

Many Australian parents oblivious to the fact their children are overweight

The disturbing results showed that only 7.9% of children were considered to be overweight by their parents. However, this is a gross underestimation according to the recent Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) report , which showed almost a quarter of all children (aged two to 12) are overweight or obese.

15 Jul 2009

Scientists discover 27 genes associated with Asperger's syndrome, autistic traits and empathy

Scientists from the University of Cambridge have identified 27 genes that are associated with either Asperger Syndrome (AS) and/or autistic traits and/or empathy. The research will be published tomorrow in the journal Autism Research. This is the first candidate gene study of its kind.

15 Jul 2009

Discovery of key protein for tumor suppression in ER+ breast cancer

Researchers from the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson have identified a protein relationship that may be an ideal treatment target for ER+ breast cancer. The study was reported in the July 15 issue of Cancer Research.

15 Jul 2009

Obama on health reform: transcript

President Barack Obama spoke today in the Rose Garden on health care reform. The White House released his remarks.

15 Jul 2009

Obama continues to press the importance of health reform

"Praising and prodding Congress at once, President Barack Obama on Wednesday said a vast reform of the nation's health insurance system is required to head off instability to families, industry and the government itself." He gave his remarks from the White House Rose Garden, where he was surrounded by nurses "to make his point," the Associated Press reports.

15 Jul 2009

Senate HELP Commitee completes health bill

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee "has passed legislation to revamp health care, becoming the first congressional committee to act on President Barack Obama's goal of overhauling the system this year," the Associated Press reports.

15 Jul 2009

House Democrats' health bill would tax rich to finance insurance expansion

House Democratic leaders Tuesday unveiled their bill to reform America's health care system - and insure an additional 37 million Americans over the next 10 years - to the tune of more than $1 trillion, funded mostly through an up-to-5.4 percent surtax on income for the wealthiest Americans, The Washington Post reports.

15 Jul 2009

Despite some progress, key senators say August deadline a longshot

One day after President Obama told lawmakers to speed up their pace, three key Finance Committee senators expressed doubts about meeting the President's August deadline for passing a reform proposal, Politico reports. Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., said he doesn't "see how" his colleagues can confirm the new Supreme Court nominee, Sonia Sotomayor, and pass a health bill in the time left before the August recess.

15 Jul 2009

Obama may settle for Democrat-only support to pass health reform

"President Barack Obama may rely only on Democrats to push health-care legislation through the U.S. Congress if Republican resistance doesn't eventually give way, two of the president's top advisers said," Bloomberg reports.

15 Jul 2009

New Hampshire's Medicaid program almost out of money

"Rising unemployment and spiking Medicaid and welfare caseloads have put [New Hampshire's] most recent budget to the test just two weeks after its adoption," New Hampshire Public Radio reports.

15 Jul 2009

Two major companies could join Wal-Mart in backing employer mandate

Target, the second-largest U.S. discount retailer, and Kelly Services, a temporary worker agency, said "they may support Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s call for mandatory medical insurance by large companies as part of a proposed overhaul of U.S. health care," Bloomberg reports.

15 Jul 2009

Economy squeezing access to health care

As unemployment rises, many Florida women are "turning to federally subsidized mammograms and pap smears, and county health officials are worried they could be overwhelmed," The Orlando Sentinel reports.

15 Jul 2009

How much health care for $1 trillion?

USA Today asks what the additional $1 trillion cost of a health care overhaul (over 10 years) will actually buy. "Although the eye-popping price tag would help boost insurance coverage to 95% or more of the public, it's not enough to do everything advocates initially want.

15 Jul 2009

Women veterans don't always get privacy at VA clinics

Veterans Affairs hospitals and outpatient clinics under review are not always complying fully with federal privacy requirements, often exposing women when they bathe or receive exams, according to government auditors, The Associated Press reports.

15 Jul 2009

J & J: hospital deal will hurt medical device sales

The CFO for Johnson & Johnson's said President Obama's deal with hospitals to cut Medicare costs will reduce the sales of medical devices, Bloomberg reports: "Hospitals buy medical devices, including J&J’s artificial hips and stents to prop open clogged arteries, directly from the manufacturer, (Johnson and Johnson CFO Dominic) Caruso said today in an interview with Bloomberg News.

15 Jul 2009

Massachusetts' budget forces retreat from universal coverage

"The new state budget in Massachusetts eliminates health care coverage for some 30,000 legal immigrants to help close a growing deficit, reversing progress toward universal coverage just as Congress looks to the state as a model for overhauling the nation’s health care system," the New York Times reports.

15 Jul 2009

Bio manufacturers poised to follow Senate victory with house win

"A veteran California lawmaker with ties to the biotechnology industry said she thinks her proposal to protect brand-name biologic makers has enough support to carry in the House Energy and Commerce Committee," Dow Jones Newswires/Wall Street Journal reports.

15 Jul 2009