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TSRI receives fund to develop new field test for Onchocerciasis

Philanthropist, businessman and community leader John Moores has given The Scripps Research Institute approximately $2 million to fund the development of a new field test for Onchocerciasis, or river blindness, a parasitic infection that affects tens of millions of people in Africa, Latin America and other tropical regions.

21 Mar 2013

Blog examines survival of Feed the Future initiative under sequestration

"While the [Feed the Future] program took a few years to get off the ground, and is probably not all that well known to the public, it is a favorite of USAID Administrator Raj Shah -- and also a go-to program budget hawks now want to cut back," development blogger Tom Murphy writes in the Humanosphere blog, noting the "House Budget Committee recommended to cut Feed the Future entirely last year."

21 Mar 2013

Social work professor explores U.N.'s task ahead to care for aging

In Norway, families receive public support that enables them to care for aging parents in their own homes and keep them out of nursing homes. This includes a salary for a son or daughter to provide care.

21 Mar 2013

India's federal cabinet approves food security bill; Parliament to debate proposal

"India approved changes to a bill that grants the nation's poor the right to buy food grains at subsidized rates, meeting a pledge by the ruling Congress party to spread the benefits of growth before elections due next year," Bloomberg reports (Parija/Mishra, 3/20).

21 Mar 2013

Investigators examine effectiveness of probiotics for cancer treatment

One may not think of probiotics -- like those found in yogurt that promote good digestive health -- as a weapon used in the fight against cancer. But that is the focus of investigators at The Cancer Institute of New Jersey, who are examining the effectiveness of probiotics as they relate to the outcomes of bone marrow transplant for patients with blood cancers.

21 Mar 2013

GlobalPost, humanitarian agencies examine impact of childhood TB

Noting the WHO and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria on Monday issued a joint statement calling for an additional $1.6 million a year to fight tuberculosis (TB) in low- and middle-income countries, GlobalPost's "Global Pulse" blog examines the global impact of childhood TB, writing, "While health officials did not single out the devastating impact of the disease on children ... WHO estimates that at least 500,000 children contract TB each year and that 70,000 die from the disease, largely in Asia and Africa."

21 Mar 2013

New research may help clinicians determine factors that increase risk of blood clots after surgery

New research from the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center, published in the Journal of Surgical Research, may help clinicians determine which patients are at highest risk for post-surgical blood clots in the legs or lungs.

21 Mar 2013

DART Therapeutics develops new class of therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy

DART Therapeutics Inc., an innovative, new-model biotechnology firm focused on developing therapies for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, announced today that it is developing a SARM drug candidate obtained from Belgium-based Galapagos NV.

21 Mar 2013

Blog reports on Consortium of Universities for Global Health annual conference

The Global Health Technologies Coalition's "Breakthroughs" blog reports on the Consortium of Universities for Global Health annual conference held last week, highlighting "a panel hosted by the GHTC, which focused on current fiscal and policy realities in the United States that will impact global health research and development in the coming year and beyond."

21 Mar 2013

AANS, CNS urge Congress to restore Medicare payments for stereotactic radiosurgery

he American Association of Neurological Surgeons and Congress of Neurological Surgeons are urging Congress to restore Medicare hospital outpatient payment rates for Cobalt-60-based stereotactic radiosurgery to those in place prior to the enactment of the American Taxpayer Relief Act.

21 Mar 2013

Patient-centered end-of-life care results in happier patients who live longer, researchers find

New doctors take an oath to first do no harm, but physicians often go too far in their quest to keep that oath - exposing patients to aggressive treatments that don't improve outcomes and drive up healthcare costs.

21 Mar 2013

Motivating food shoppers to make healthy choices

Researchers at RAND found the result of offering rebates for healthy foods can lead to shifts in diets, which could have public policy implications.

21 Mar 2013

Study examines overuse of ER for nonemergency visits

Visits to the ER are not always for true medical emergencies - and some policymakers have been fighting the problem by denying or limiting payments if the patient's diagnosis upon discharge is for "nonemergency" conditions.

21 Mar 2013

Supreme Court considering generic drugmaker safety liability

The Supreme Court is weighing if generic drugmakers can be sued over the safety of their drugs or if federal regulators' safety approval is enough to block all such legal challenges.

21 Mar 2013

UC San Francisco team develops online cardiovascular study to improve heart health

A UC San Francisco team has developed an ambitious online cardiovascular study using mobile smartphones, with the goal of enrolling one million people from all over the world to improve heart health.

21 Mar 2013

UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center joins alliance of world's leading cancer centers

On March 19, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network announced the election of University of California, San Diego Moores Cancer Center as the first and only San Diego-based NCCN Member Institution dedicated to improving the quality, effectiveness, and efficiency of care provided to patients with cancer.

21 Mar 2013