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Adolescents, alcohol and influences

Chances are the only thing you remember about your first swig of alcohol is how bad the stuff tasted. What you didn't know is the person who gave you that first drink and when you had it says a lot about your predisposition to imbibe later in life.

29 Jan 2013

Building global health into relations with China

Writing in the Global Health Governance Blog, Yanzhong Huang, a senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations, addresses President Obama about "the challenge of building a mature and mutually beneficial bilateral relationship" with China.

29 Jan 2013

U-M researchers develop new method thet could enhance gene sequencing data

When researchers sequence the RNA of cancer cells, they can compare it to normal cells and see where there is more RNA. That can help lead them to the gene or protein that might be triggering the cancer.

29 Jan 2013

How the Medicaid expansion is playing in certain states

In New Jersey, advocates are making a case for the state to pursue this part of the health law, but Wisconsin's governor is pointing to its complexity as an argument against it. The Washington state legislature is also giving an expansion a long look.

29 Jan 2013

German Research Foundation approves funding for Mainz study on cardiovascular disorders

The German Research Foundation has approved funding for the Department of Internal Medicine II of the Mainz University Medical Center to promote the further study of the interrelations between the immune system and cardiovascular system disorders.

29 Jan 2013

Have scientists thoroughly addressed avian flu research concerns?

Noting that a nearly yearlong moratorium on H5N1 avian influenza research, put in place "because of safety and terrorism concerns," was lifted recently, a New York Times editorial states, "We wish we could be as sanguine as they are that all the earlier concerns have been dealt with."

29 Jan 2013

Study finds reduction in salt intake among England people after national campaign

The number of people in England adding salt to food at the table fell by more than a quarter in the five years following a national campaign, according to research published in the British Journal of Nutrition.

29 Jan 2013

Democrats defend safety net, propose modest adjustments

That partisan gibe was telling. He defended two programs, Medicare and Medicaid, begun nearly a half-century ago, and a third, Social Security, that dates from the Great Depression. The federal welfare commitments that Mr. Obama praised in observing that "a great nation must care for the vulnerable" also date back to President Franklin D. Roosevelt's time.

29 Jan 2013

Consuming carotenoid-rich foods may help prevent or delay onset of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

New research suggests that increased consumption of foods containing colorful carotenoids, particularly beta-carotene and lutein, may prevent or delay the onset of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

29 Jan 2013

Birth control coverage mandate triggers numerous legal challenges

Lawsuits have been filed by Catholic dioceses as well as private employers who say this provision of the health law conflicts with their religious beliefs.

29 Jan 2013

Colorectal cancer screening: an interview with Dr Donato F. Altomare

Colorectal cancer is a malignant neoplasm affecting the large bowel and the rectum mainly after the 5th decade of life and representing the second cause of death for cancer in western countries (the third in women). In about 15-20% of patients there is an inherited predisposition.

29 Jan 2013

Study examines how fear responses are learned, controlled and memorized

A rustle of undergrowth in the outback: it's a sound that might make an animal or person stop sharply and be still, in the anticipation of a predator. That "freezing" is part of the fear response, a reaction to a stimulus in the environment and part of the brain's determination of whether to be afraid of it.

29 Jan 2013

State leaders seeking cash, legislation to improve mental health care

Minnesota, Florida, Illinois are directing money to provide more mental health care as Massachusetts is taking another look at background checks for gun sales.

29 Jan 2013

Novel experiment illuminates importance of doctor-patient relationship

A patient's relationship with his or her doctor has long been considered an important component of healing. Now, in a novel investigation in which physicians underwent brain scans while they believed they were actually treating patients, researchers have provided the first scientific evidence indicating that doctors truly can feel their patients' pain - and can also experience their relief following treatment.

29 Jan 2013

African heads of state meet to address maternal mortality, MDG 5 goal

African "heads of state gathered in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa for the African Union Summit met at a side event on Sunday, Jan. 27 to renew their commitment to reducing the maternal mortality rate on the continent," Inter Press Service reports.

29 Jan 2013

Polio eradication must fit into larger public health, development goals

"The tragic murders of nine anti-polio workers in Pakistan last month, followed by the New Year's Day killing of seven more local community development workers, was both a wake-up call to the global polio eradication effort in its current form, and a 'canary in the mine' regarding the deteriorating state of development and security in the country," Heidi Larson, a senior lecturer and principal investigator at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, writes in a SciDev.Net opinion piece.

29 Jan 2013

Scientists identify genetic process in which normal liver cells transform into cancerous ones

A team of scientists from the Cancer Science Institute of Singapore (CSI) at the National University of Singapore (NUS) has identified a genetic process in which normal liver cells transform into cancerous ones. The finding provides new understanding into the pathogenesis of human cancers.

29 Jan 2013

Opinion pieces examine role of private sector investment in global health

The following opinion pieces were published Saturday as the World Economic Forum, held last week in Davos, Switzerland, came to a close.

29 Jan 2013

Radial approach for PCI leads to less bleeding and improved survival in STEMI patients

The radial approach for percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) was developed 20 years ago and is used for more than 50% of procedures in France, Scandinavian countries, the UK, Spain and Italy. Despite the advantages of radial access some countries in Europe such as Germany use radial access for fewer than 10% of PCI.

29 Jan 2013

News outlets examines Bill Gates' commitment to fighting disease globally

"This week the billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates" -- co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation -- "will deliver the annual BBC Richard Dimbleby Lecture in which he will spell out his commitment to ridding the world of polio which can cause paralysis and even death within hours," BBC News reports.

29 Jan 2013