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What will Americans do if bird flu strikes?

According to a recent poll most Americans would comply with government orders to avoid work, school or other public places in the event of a flu pandemic.

30 Oct 2006

Teen's radiation overdose down to paperwork

A report into the death of a teenage cancer patient who was given, in error, massive overdoses of radiation to treat a brain tumour, was apparently down to paperwork.

30 Oct 2006

GSK about to sign another big bird flu deal

Europe's largest drug maker GlaxoSmithKline is said to be about to sign another deal to provide tens of millions of doses of it's experimental H5N1 vaccine for humans.

30 Oct 2006

Six medics fight for their life in Libyan re-trial as another child dies of AIDS

The death of a nine-year old girl from AIDS in Libya brings the death toll to 52 of children in a Benghazi hospital who were allegedly deliberately infected with the virus by six foreign medics.

30 Oct 2006

Expert says flu vaccination programs a pointless waste of money

According to a vaccine expert the millions spent on flu vaccination programs each year are a waste of time and money.

30 Oct 2006

Wild pigs suspects in E. coli drama

Investigators now believe wild pigs were possibly the source of a recent spinach E.coli outbreak in the USA and Canada that resulted in the death of three people and made over 200 people ill.

30 Oct 2006

Living near highways bad for kids asthma

According to the results of a five-year study by researchers at New York University's School of Medicine, the unusually high numbers of elementary school children suffering from asthma and other respiratory ailments in the South Bronx area of New York, can be attributed to motor vehicle exhaust fumes.

30 Oct 2006

Lab-on-a-chip nanoscale array monitors cellular processes

Researchers at Tel-Aviv University in Israel have developed a lab-on-a-chip device that can incorporate enzymes and even living cells in a nanoscale array capable of monitoring electrochemical reactions.

30 Oct 2006

Detecting rare microRNAs with gold nanoparticles

Over the past three years, numerous studies have shown that short pieces of single-stranded RNA, known as microRNAs, play a central role in the development of at least some cancers.

30 Oct 2006

Multifunctional composite nanoparticles: magnetic, luminescent, and mesoporous

Silica, the mineral of which sand is made, is generally inert in the body and can be modified easily using a variety of well-established chemical reactions.

30 Oct 2006

Self-assembling nanoparticle releases drug into cell cytoplasm

A growing body of research leaves no doubt that nanoparticles can transport drugs into cancer cells, but what is less clear is that the drug payload can exit the tiny endosomes that pull nanoparticles into cells.

30 Oct 2006

JAMA examines history of HIV testing

"HIV Screening in Health Care Settings: Public Health and Civil Liberties Conflict?" Journal of the American Medical Association: Lawrence Gostin, associate dean at the Georgetown University Law Center, in the Oct. 25 issue of JAMA examines the history of HIV testing and the new CDC recommendations regarding testing.

26 Oct 2006

Global Fund To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria needs improved oversight of programs

The Global Fund To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria needs to improve its oversight of programs in developing countries and find ways to ensure that programs it funds are effective, according to a report released on Wednesday by the Center for Global Development, the Boston Globe reports.

26 Oct 2006

Injection drug use, lack of sex education contributing to spread of HIV in Malaysia

Illicit drug use and a lack of sex education in Malaysia are fueling the spread of HIV in the country, Reuters reports. The World Health Organization last year said Malaysia was close to an HIV epidemic.

26 Oct 2006

In the case of an outbreak of pandemic flu, large majority of Americans willing to make major changes in their lives

The latest national survey conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) Project on the Public and Biological Security finds that when faced with a serious outbreak of pandemic flu, a large majority of Americans are willing to make major changes in their lives and cooperate with public health officials' recommendations.

26 Oct 2006

Black Medicare beneficiaries "fare worse" than white beneficiaries

Black Medicare beneficiaries "fare worse" than white beneficiaries "even when they belong to the same health plan," an indication that health care disparities "cannot be attributed to individual, inferior doctors," according to a study published on Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the Boston Globe reports.

26 Oct 2006

Big pharma contributes millions to Republican congressional campaigns in close races

The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday examined how pharmaceutical companies are "pouring millions of dollars" into congressional campaigns in close races, "giving some Republicans a financial edge."

26 Oct 2006

Massachusetts Attorney General sues low-cost health insurer alleging unfair practices

Massachusetts Attorney General Thomas Reilly (D) on Monday filed a lawsuit against Texas-based HealthMarkets, which sells low-cost health insurance to small businesses and students in the state, accusing the company of deceptive marketing practices and improper denials of patient claims, the Boston Globe reports.

26 Oct 2006

Pennsylvania House approves bill to expand SCHIP program

The Pennsylvania House on Tuesday voted 176-19 to approve a compromise bill that would expand eligibility for the state's SCHIP program to thousands more children, the AP/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

26 Oct 2006

Washington, D.C., hospital house call program provides care for elderly residents

A program developed by the geriatric department of Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C., hopes to reduce health care costs by providing house calls to elderly residents, the Washington Times reports.

26 Oct 2006