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Judge orders trial on Kan. law restricting insurance coverage for abortions

A federal judge turned down the ACLU's request to summarily invalidate the measure, but said the issues must be adjudicated at trial.

9 Jan 2013

Kingston University professor receives prestigious prize for work on drug metabolism

The Dean of the Faculty of Science, Engineering and Computing at London's Kingston University has received a prestigious prize recognising her lifetime's work on drug metabolism.

9 Jan 2013

Sandy Hook shooting changes lobbying dynamics for guns and mental health

The Washington Post reports on how the recent Sandy Hook shooting has altered the lobbying landscape regarding gun rights and mental health issues.

9 Jan 2013

Antibiotics produce changes in microbial and metabolic patterns of the gut

A study co-led by researchers at the Universitat de València reveals that antibiotics produce changes in the microbial and metabolic patterns of the gut.

9 Jan 2013

'Kangaroo Mother Care' helping infants survive in middle-, low-income countries

Jennifer James, the founder of Mom Bloggers for Social Good who traveled last month with Save the Children to observe their work in Ethiopia, writes in the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's "Impatient Optimists" blog, "I was heartened to see that both hospitals we visited, Black Lion hospital in Addis Ababa and Bishoftu hospital in Debre Zeyit, had a dedicated 'Kangaroo Mother Care' (the practice of wrapping ones' baby to ones' bare chest and breastfeeding exclusively) unit."

9 Jan 2013

Debiopharm, Spinomix announce closing of Series A equity financing

Debiopharm Group (Debiopharm) and Spinomix SA, a Swiss company advancing molecular diagnostic technologies, announced the closing of a Series A equity investment of $ 3 Million.

9 Jan 2013

Guardian profiles health project in central India

"For 15 years, a dedicated group of doctors has been running a health project in central India called Jan Swasthya Sahyog," the Guardian reports, writing, "In a country where many people have no access to health care, their hospital -- which relies on grants and donations -- serves a population of almost one million people in rural areas of Bilaspur district in Chhattisgarh state."

9 Jan 2013

Abnormal fixation may contribute to deficits in face perception in AMD patients

Abnormalities of eye movement and fixation may contribute to difficulty in perceiving and recognizing faces among older adults with age-related macular degeneration (AMD), suggests a study "Abnormal Fixation in Individuals with AMD when Viewing an Image of a Face" appearing in the January issue of Optometry and Vision Science, official journal of the American Academy of Optometry.

9 Jan 2013

Report: U.S. health spending grew at record slow pace for third consecutive year

The country's health care bill tallied $2.7 trillion, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. Some indicators, though, suggest the slowed growth may not last.

9 Jan 2013

Overall cancer death rates continue to decline in the U.S.: Report

The Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer, 1975-2009, shows that overall cancer death rates continued to decline in the United States among both men and women, among all major racial and ethnic groups, and for all of the most common cancer sites, including lung, colon and rectum, female breast, and prostate.

9 Jan 2013

UNICEF Executive Director discusses need for commodities market for life-saving medicines

In this Forbes interview, Rahim Kanani of the Skoll World Forum speaks with UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake about reducing child mortality and the need for a commodities market to improve access to medicines and health care.

9 Jan 2013

Body's sodium levels fluctuate rhythmically with 7-day and monthly cycles

Clinical pharmacologist Jens Titze, M.D., knew he had a one-of-a-kind scientific opportunity: the Russians were going to simulate a flight to Mars, and he was invited to study the participating cosmonauts.

9 Jan 2013

State roundup: Medicaid costs could affect state surpluses; Calif. gets 'C' for dental care

In Tennessee, Republican governor Bill Haslam has said that much of the state's $580 million surplus is already spent. Obamacare is expected to increase enrollment in TennCare, the state's Medicaid program, by more than 60,000 Tennesseans. ... At the same time, Texas has a $8.8 billion surplus and more than $8 billion in its rainy day fund, but faces a staggering $4.3 billion hole in its Medicaid budget.

9 Jan 2013

Researchers develop new materials to support stem cell growth

Stem cell manufacturing for drug screening and treatments for diseases such as Huntington's and Parkinson's could be boosted by a new method of generating stem cells, a study suggests.

9 Jan 2013

U.S. must take steps to rebuild trust broken by CIA's fake vaccination campaign in Pakistan

"The news that the Central Intelligence Agency had been running a fake vaccination program in Pakistan first surfaced in 2011 and quickly ignited fears that the covert operation could compromise the global campaign to eradicate polio," Lynn Goldman, dean of the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services, and Michael Klag, dean of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, write in a Baltimore Sun opinion piece, noting a number of polio workers have been killed in the country over the last month.

9 Jan 2013

CTI initiates enrollment in pacritinib Phase 3 trial for myelofibrosis

Cell Therapeutics, Inc. (CTI) today announced that the Company has initiated clinical trial sites and began enrolling patients in a Phase 3 clinical trial, known as PERSIST-1 or PAC325, for pacritinib, CTI's investigational JAK2 inhibitor, which is being evaluated for the treatment of patients with myelofibrosis.

9 Jan 2013

Post-disaster disease myth diverted attention from cholera outbreak following Haiti earthquake

"Few post-disaster myths have a stronger hold on our imaginations than the specter of a follow-on epidemic ... But we can all take a deep, healthy breath: It's not true," Jonathan Katz, a journalist stationed in Haiti, writes in a PopSci opinion piece.

9 Jan 2013

Flusurvey: an interview with Dr Alma Adler

Flusurvey is an online system of tracking influenza across the UK. We are linked to other flu surveys across Europe, so there are about 12 flu surveys across Europe in total.

9 Jan 2013

Nutrisystem reduces arterial stiffness associated with menopause and obesity

Arturo Figueroa, a researcher in the Florida State University College of Human Sciences, has confirmed with a team of researchers that Nutrisystem, with or without low intense resistance exercise, improves arterial function in obese, postmenopausal women.

9 Jan 2013

Public health school deans condemn CIA's use of fake vaccination campaign in letter to Obama

"The deans of the nation's top public health schools sent a letter to President Obama on Monday condemning the Central Intelligence Agency's use of a vaccination campaign ruse in the hunt for Osama bin Laden," the New York Times reports.

9 Jan 2013