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Defending health exchange's rollout puts Sebelius in the hot seat

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is being called to Capitol Hill by Republican lawmakers who want her to explain what went wrong with the Oct. 1 unveiling of healthcare.gov. She is also facing calls for her resignation. Still, according to Politico, her job is safe.

24 Oct 2013

Researchers describe why current medications only moderately reduce Fragile X symptoms

When you experience something, neurons in the brain send chemical signals called neurotransmitters across synapses to receptors on other neurons. How well that process unfolds determines how you comprehend the experience and what behaviors might follow. In people with Fragile X syndrome, a third of whom are eventually diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, that process is severely hindered, leading to intellectual impairments and abnormal behaviors.

24 Oct 2013

Researchers explore the origin of sweat gland stem cells

Without sweat, we would overheat and die. In a recent paper in the journal PLOS ONE, USC faculty member Krzysztof Kobielak and a team of researchers explored the ultimate origin of this sticky, stinky but vital substance - sweat gland stem cells.

24 Oct 2013

Rethinking the 1930s attack on malaria may help solve modern day malaria outbreaks

A new University of Texas at Arlington study about the elimination of malaria in the 1930s American South may have significant implications for solving modern day malaria outbreaks in parts of Africa, Central and Latin America, and Asia.

24 Oct 2013

BCG asthma effects are lost in adolescence

Any beneficial effects of the neonatal Bacillus Calmette–Guérin vaccine on childhood asthma symptoms and outcomes are likely to be transient, disappearing by adolescence, show follow-up findings from the Manchester Community Asthma Study.

23 Oct 2013

Specific antibody patterns predict schizophrenia risk

The presence of antibodies to multiple foods and infectious agents is a risk marker for new-onset schizophrenia, a case-control study suggests.

23 Oct 2013

Postpartum diagnostic switches likely in depressed women

Women with major depression should be monitored for emerging symptoms of hypomania during the postpartum period, say researchers.

23 Oct 2013

Scientists to converge at nation's first conference on computational psychiatry

More than 70 scientists from around the world and from a range of intellectual traditions will convene in Miami this week for what is believed to be the nation's first conference on computational psychiatry, an emerging field in neuroscience.

23 Oct 2013

New smartphone app for patients with hemophilia and related bleeding disorders

BioRx, a national specialty pharmacy and infusion services provider, announced the launch of its industry's first smartphone app designed for patients with hemophilia and related bleeding disorders.

23 Oct 2013

Newly discovered proteins in spinal fluid can serve as markers for Alzheimer's disease

23 Oct 2013

MEDICREA records over 60% of sales in third quarter 2013

The MEDICREA Group, which specializes in the development of innovative surgical technologies for the treatment of spinal pathologies, listed on Alternext by NYSE - Euronext Paris, announces its sales for the third quarter of 2013, ended September 30.

23 Oct 2013

New imaging tool could someday be used for routine breast cancer screenings

Breast cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer and cancer deaths among women worldwide. Routine screening can increase breast cancer survival by detecting the disease early and allowing doctors to address it at this critical stage.

23 Oct 2013

Doctors-in-training must employ etiquette-based communications to improve medical recovery, patient satisfaction

Johns Hopkins investigators have found that doctors-in-training are unlikely to introduce themselves fully to hospitalized patients or sit down to talk to them eye-to-eye, despite research suggesting that courteous bedside manners improve medical recovery along with patient satisfaction.

23 Oct 2013

Researchers uncover mechanism for improving song learning in juvenile zebra finches

Most songbirds learn their songs from an adult model, mostly from the father. However, there are relatively large differences in the accuracy how these songs are copied.

23 Oct 2013

First Edition: October 23, 2013

Today's headlines include continuing coverage about the problems with the healthcare.gov website, how Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is in the hot seat and how the White House has called in reinforcements -- a glitch czar.

23 Oct 2013

Accelera Innovations, Lambert Private Equity sign Investment Agreement to support growth initiatives

Accelera Innovations, Inc. a Chicago-based healthcare software-as-a-service provider (the "Company") today announced it has entered into a Standby Equity Purchase Agreement ("Investment Agreement") with Lambert Private Equity, LLC, (the "Investor").

23 Oct 2013

Complete Care program improves outcomes for Kaiser Permanente patients

Complete Care, a collaborative approach to meeting patient needs, is improving outcomes for Kaiser Permanente patients.

23 Oct 2013

New flu vaccine offers better protection against circulating flu viruses

Last year's flu season was considered one of the strongest and deadliest in recent decades, according to the CDC. In preparation for this year's flu season, Concentra, a subsidiary of Humana Inc., offers a flu vaccine to provide greater protection against circulating flu strains.

23 Oct 2013

New technological approach may help improve stem cell-based neurodegenerative diseases

An international research group has successfully tested the use of a new type of porous material for the efficient delivery of key molecules to transplanted cells derived from stem cells. These results can lead to improvements in the way stem cell-based neurodegenerative diseases are treated.

23 Oct 2013

A simple blood test may reveal the earliest signs of pancreatic cancer

Reporting on a small preliminary study, Johns Hopkins researchers say a simple blood test based on detection of tiny epigenetic alterations may reveal the earliest signs of pancreatic cancer, a disease that is nearly always fatal because it isn't usually discovered until it has spread to other parts of the body.

23 Oct 2013