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Seniors defend Medicare Advantage plans

USA Today reports that Medicare Advantage, which allows seniors to buy Medicare coverage through private insurance companies, could provide one of the largest spending cuts for Congress to pay for an overhaul of the health care system though "President Obama has called (it) a 'wasteful' subsidy for the health insurance industry

6 Aug 2009

Smoking marijuana has toxic effects on cells

In a finding that challenges the increasingly popular belief that smoking marijuana is less harmful to health than smoking tobacco, researchers in Canada are reporting that smoking marijuana, like smoking tobacco, has toxic effects on cells.

6 Aug 2009

Moving to U.S. increases cancer risk for Hispanics

Results of a new study confirm trends that different Hispanic population groups have higher incidence rates of certain cancers and worse cancer outcomes if they live in the United States, than they do if they live in their homelands.

6 Aug 2009

Insurers say Democratic 'villain' comments on reform hurtful to process

Karen Ignagni, the health industry's chief lobbyist, said Tuesday that insurers were being singled out and vilified for their role in health care reform when they are the ones trying to reform the system, The New York Times reports.

6 Aug 2009

Even while considering major overhaul, Democrats expand government role in public health

"As if hedging their bets on health reform, Democrats are emphasizing smaller but still significant health-related investments this year, from food safety and community health centers to a greater emphasis on rooting out abuses in Medicare and Medicaid," Politico reports.

6 Aug 2009

Research looks at health and environmental effects of exposure to nanoparticles

A new study raises the possibility that flies and other insects that encounter nanomaterial "hot spots," or spills, near manufacturing facilities in the future could pick up and transport nanoparticles on their bodies, transferring the particles to other flies or habitats in the environment.

6 Aug 2009

Intelligent forearm crutch with sensors monitors usage

A forearm crutch which incorporates sensor technology to monitor whether it is being used correctly has been developed by engineers at the University of Southampton.

6 Aug 2009

2 billion worldwide could het H1N1, says WHO

The WHO on Tuesday maintained that roughly two billion people could become infected with the H1N1 (swine flu) virus, Reuters reports.

6 Aug 2009

Digital mammography plus digital breast tomosynthesis may lower patient recall rates

Nationally, about ten percent of women in the US are recalled for a second mammogram after an abnormality is detected on the first one - for most women this can be very stressful.

6 Aug 2009

Comprehensive health reform proposals could help 13 million uninsured young adults gain coverage

Comprehensive health reform proposals now before Congress could help the more than 13 million uninsured young adults ages 19-29 gain coverage, and such reforms would also help ensure that those who now have coverage would not lose it, according to a new Commonwealth Fund report.

6 Aug 2009

Expression Analysis launches new look

The url stays the same, but www.ExpressionAnalysis.com looks a lot different today. The redesigned website allows researchers and scientists to more easily navigate and locate the information and services they are looking for, in most cases in just one click. Additionally a revamped search tool enables users to find valuable information on a wide range of scientific topics.

6 Aug 2009

Health bills create tension over abortion coverage

The Associated Press reports: "Health care legislation before Congress would allow a new government-sponsored insurance plan to cover abortions, a decision that would affect millions of women and recast federal policy on the divisive issue.

6 Aug 2009

Genzyme’s Mozobil approved in Europe

Genzyme Corporation announced today that the European Commission has granted marketing authorization for Mozobil ® (plerixafor injection), providing a significant new option for patients with the blood cancers lymphoma and multiple myeloma who require an autologous stem cell transplant.

6 Aug 2009

Checking in with health insurers' chief lobbyist Karen Ignagni

This has become an especially rough-and-tumble time for Karen Ignagni, the health industry’s chief lobbyist. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has denounced insurers as “villains,” and President Obama has criticized the industry for its “windfall profits.” Earlier this year, Ignagni pledged to work with Obama and Congress to pass major health care legislation this year, but relations have cooled as the White House and congressional Democrats have begun citing the industry’s practices as a top reason to pass an overhaul of the nation’s health care system.

6 Aug 2009

Dartmouth wins $3 million for health IT research

Dartmouth has received a $3 million grant from the National Science Foundation for research to develop secure and trustworthy computing systems for healthcare settings.

6 Aug 2009

Biochemics and Pacific Pharmaceutical to collaborate on skin products

BioChemics, Inc. (BCI) has announced the signing of a research collaboration agreement with Pacific Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd, a publicly held Company in South Korea to evaluate the use of BCI's VALE® based compositions in cosmetic applications.

6 Aug 2009

Endocrine Reviews gets top Impact Factor ranking

In its recently released annual Journal Citation Report (JCR) for 2008, Thomson Reuters awarded Endocrine Reviews the top Impact Factor ranking among the 93 journals competing in the “Endocrinology & Metabolism” category.

6 Aug 2009

Therapeutic hypothermia after cardiac arrest is cost-effective

A brain-preserving cooling treatment called therapeutic hypothermia is a cost-effective way to improve outcomes after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, which claims the lives of more than 300,000 people each year in the United States and leaves thousands of others neurologically devastated.

6 Aug 2009

CNN poll finds Americans' opinons are divided regarding the President's health reform push

Americans appear split over the president's push for health care reform, a new CNN poll has found. "Fifty percent of those questioned in CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Wednesday morning say they support the president's plans, with 45 percent opposed.

6 Aug 2009

Aradigm receives orphan drug designation for inhaled liposomal ciprofloxacin to treat cystic fibrosis in Europe

Aradigm Corporation (OTCBB:ARDM) has announced that the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) granted Orphan Drug Designation to the Company’s inhaled liposomal ciprofloxacin drug product candidate for the treatment of lung infections associated with cystic fibrosis (“CF”).

6 Aug 2009