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Federal program cracks down on Medicare fraud in Houston

A federal program targets Medicare fraud in the Houston area as news of three cases representing at least $35 million in false claims emerged within the past week.

14 Jul 2009

Health reform stalled in Congress by busy schedule, divided lawmakers

"Lawmakers from both parties are telling the White House they will go on vacation next month and leave behind - and incomplete - President Barack Obama's health care overhaul," the Associated Press reports. The White House had long pushed lawmakers to complete their proposal by the recess, a target that now appears unlikely.

14 Jul 2009

Small business: The hunt for affordable health insurance

"For entrepreneurs trying to start or run a business, the obstacles are huge. But few loom as large as one: health care," the Wall Street Journal reports. "At some businesses, in fact, health care is the highest expense after salaries - with devastating consequences.

14 Jul 2009

Survey: Illinois seniors delay buying prescription drugs

Some seniors in Illinois are delaying buying prescription drugs because of the cost, according to the AARP. United Press International reports: "Twenty-one percent of AARP members surveyed in Illinois report not filling or delaying filling prescriptions due to cost, a survey indicated.

14 Jul 2009

For doctors in Congress, little harmony on health care

"In the struggle to overhaul the nation's health care system, 16 physicians have ended up in ringside seats - as members of the House and Senate. But they have taken different lessons from their experiences in medicine, and they do not agree on what a bill should look like," The New York Times reports.

14 Jul 2009

Slumping economy hurts health system, but stimulus provides some relief

The receding economy has dragged down Michigan's health care system, "offering a preview of how a lingering recession could corrode Americans' hospitals, savings and health," the Wall Street Journal reports.

14 Jul 2009

New insight into apoptosis

A study by Nanyang Technological University (NTU)'s Assistant Professor Li Hoi Yeung, Assistant Professor Koh Cheng Gee and their team have made an important contribution to the understanding of the process that cells go through when they die. This process known as 'apoptosis' or programmed cell death, is a normal process in the human body which removes perhaps a million cells a second.

14 Jul 2009

Obama addresses Ghana's parliament, reiterates U.S. global health initiative

During his visit to Ghana over the weekend, President Obama praised the country for its achievements while calling on African leaders to take responsibility for the future of the continent, CNN reports. "Despite the progress that has been made - and there has been considerable progress in parts of Africa - we also know that much of that promise has yet to be fulfilled," Obama said during a speech before the Ghanaian parliament (7/11).

13 Jul 2009

G8, African leaders agree to strengthen water access partnership

G8 and leaders from Algeria, Angola, Egypt, Ethiopia, Libya, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa and the African Union on Friday announced an agreement to strengthen their partnership to improve access to water in Africa, Ennahar Online reports (Oudina, 7/10).

13 Jul 2009

U.S. to commit additional $1 billion to H1N1 vaccine development

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said Sunday the U.S. has agreed to put an addition $1 billion towards ingredients for the production of a vaccine that offers protection against the H1N1 (swine flu) virus, Reuters reports.

13 Jul 2009

IRIN examines 'dramatic plunge' in family planning international donor dunding

IRIN examines how a "dramatic plunge" in international donor funding for family planning could undermine other health- and humanitarian-related goals, including fighting poverty and hunger. About 200 million women do not have access to contraception, which could cause a surge in the world's population leading to a reversal of humanitarian gains, according to some experts.

13 Jul 2009

More than half of malaria drugs in west Africa 'sub-standard quality,' says UNODC

VOA News reports that fake pharmaceuticals pose a greater risk to stability and human security in West Africa than illegal drug trafficking, according to U.N. Office Against Drugs and Crime report. More than half of the malaria medication available in West Africa is of "sub-standard quality," according to U.N. estimates, VOA News writes, adding, "West Africa has the highest estimated rate of malaria on the continent, with nearly 98 million cases of malaria per year."

13 Jul 2009

Bath time a risky business for young children

A new study has found children are far more at risk of injury in the bath or shower from slips, trips and falls, than from scalding or drowning and most injuries occur to children under age 4.

13 Jul 2009

Medical use for waste television screens

Waste material from discarded televisions could be recycled and used in medicine, according to new research by scientists at the University of York.

13 Jul 2009

Making the difficult task of transporting a child with special needs safer

A new study by researchers from the Automotive Safety Program at Riley Hospital for Children and Indiana University School of Medicine published online July 13, 2009 in the journal Pediatrics reports that the parents of children with special health care needs are doing a good job with the selection of the appropriate child car seat but still need help in using it correctly.

13 Jul 2009

FDA issues draft guidance on drug anticounterfeiting

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued a draft guidance on the use of inks, pigments, flavors, and other physical-chemical identifiers (PCIDs) by manufacturers to make drug products more difficult to duplicate by counterfeiters, and to make it easier to identify the genuine version of the drug.

13 Jul 2009

Novel drug discovery tool could bring new therapies for Parkinson’s

Researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health have turned simple baker?s yeast into a virtual army of medicinal chemists capable of rapidly searching for drugs to treat Parkinson's disease.

13 Jul 2009

By manipulating oxygen, scientists coax bacteria into a wave

Bacteria know that they are too small to make an impact individually. So they wait, they multiply, and then they engage in behaviors that are only successful when all cells participate in unison. There are hundreds of behaviors that bacteria carry out in such communities. Now researchers at Rockefeller University have discovered one that has never been observed or described before in a living system.

13 Jul 2009

Happier, healthier, more productive hens on omega-3?

Most of us are aware of the potential health benefits of omega-3 found in fish oil and flax seed. Now researchers are looking at how omega-3 may help laying hens avoid bone damage.

13 Jul 2009