Breaking Health News

Millennium Announces First Clinical Data For TAK-700 Prostate Molecule At ASCO GU
Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company today announced the presentation of safety, pharmacokinetic and efficacy data from the Phase I portion of a Phase I/II clinical trial evaluating TAK-700 in patients with metastatic castration resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). These data were presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology Genitourinary Cancers Symposium (ASCO GU), held March 5-7, 2010 in San Francisco, CA...

ImmunoGen, Inc. Announces Orphan Drug Designation Granted To IMGN901 For Treatment Of Merkel Cell Carcinoma By US FDA And EU COMP
ImmunoGen, Inc. (Nasdaq: IMGN), a biotechnology company that develops targeted anticancer products using its antibody expertise and Targeted Antibody Payload (TAP) technology, announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted orphan drug designation to its IMGN901 compound when used for the treatment of Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC). Through a separate process, the European Union (EU) Committee for Orphan Medicinal Products (COMP) concurrently also granted IMGN901 orphan medicinal product designation for the treatment of MCC...

BG Medicine And Abbott To Develop Galectin-3 Test For The I-STAT(R) System
BG Medicine, Inc. announced that it has entered into an agreement with Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) to extend its current development and commercialization collaboration to include the development of a galectin-3 test for Abbott Point of Care's i-STAT® System. Galectin-3 is a novel biomarker that may play a role in detecting the development and progression of heart failure...

Vets Welcome Extension To UK Pet Travel Protection
The European Parliament has voted 618 votes to 17 for an extension to the transitional arrangements contained within the regulation on the non-commercial movement of pet animals (Reg. 998/2003) which afford the UK additional protection against rabies, ticks and tapeworms. The British Veterinary Association (BVA) and British Small Animal Veterinary Association (BSAVA) have been lobbying MEPs to support the extension and have strongly welcomed this decision...

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society Appoints New Chief Executive
The Royal Pharmaceutical Society today announced the appointment of Helen Gordon as Chief Executive of the new Professional Leadership Body. Mrs Gordon will join the Society on the 1st of July. Mrs Gordon comes to the Society from her current position as Chief Executive of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. Prior to leading the RCOG for the past five years, Mrs Gordon was Chief Executive of Queen Mary's Sidcup NHS Trust from 2000-2005. RPSGB President, Steve Churton said: "I am delighted to welcome Helen to the Society at this pivotal time in its history...

Link Between Hepatitis C And Insulin Resistance Surprises Scientists
Scientists in Australia found that when they studied insulin resistance in people with Hepatitis C little or none of it was in the liver and nearly all the insulin resistance occured in muscle, which surprised them because Hepatitis C is a liver disease that not only leads to cirrhosis and cancer, but also makes people three to four times more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes. You can read about the study that led to these findings in the March 2010 issue of the journal Gastroenterology, which is also available online...

Dr Avijit Banerjee Confirmed For 2010 British Dental Conference And Exhibition
The BDA is proud to announce that the respected clinical expert Dr Avijit Banerjee has been confirmed to join the prestigious panel of speakers appearing at the 2010 British Dental Conference and Exhibition, to be held on the 20 - 22 May 2010 at the Liverpool Arena and Convention Centre (ACC). Dr Banerjee, Senior Lecturer and Honorary Consultant in Restorative Dentistry at King's College London (KCL) Dental Institute at Guy's Hospital, will be delivering a presentation titled Revolutions in caries management - minimal invasive dentistry in practice...

British Dental Conference And Exhibition 2010
Tickets are now available for the BDA's British Dental Conference and Exhibition, which takes place at Liverpool's Arena and Convention Centre (ACC) from 20-22 May 2010. The conference features a wide selection of both clinical and motivational speakers who are guaranteed to inspire delegates with new ideas. The conference will feature speakers and topics that are relevant to the full dental team and will be full of information and techniques that can be implemented in practise...

ECG Screening Of Hyperactive Children Borderline Cost-effective
Evaluating children for underlying heart problems before prescribing stimulant medications can identify children at risk for sudden cardiac death, but electrocardiogram (ECG) screening is of borderline cost-effectiveness compared to current practice, according to research reported in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association...

Medicine To Lower Blood Pressure Significantly Decreases Risk For Cardiovascular Disease, Stroke
A long-acting ACE inhibitor used to reduce blood pressure significantly decreased the risk for cardiovascular disease, including stroke, in normal weight, overweight and obese patients, according to research reported in Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association. In the Perindopril Protection Against Recurrent Stroke Study (PROGRESS), the rate of cardiovascular disease declined by more than 25 percent in normal weight, overweight and obese patient groups...

DASH Diet, Exercise, Calorie Restriction May Help Improve Mental Function, Heart Health In Overweight, Hypertensive Adults
The DASH diet, combined with exercise and calorie restriction, improved mental functioning by 30 percent in overweight adults with high blood pressure compared to those who didn't diet or exercise, researchers reported in Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association. The DASH diet emphasizes eating low-fat dairy products, foods low in cholesterol and high in carbohydrates, and fruits and vegetables. The DASH diet comes from the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension trial, conducted by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute...

Study Finds Clear Tie Between Parents' Stroke History, Offspring's Risk
Children with a parent who had a stroke, particularly by age 65, have an increased risk of stroke, suggesting parental stroke as an important new risk marker, according to a study in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. Researchers focused on 3,443 initially stroke-free subjects, all second-generation participants in the Framingham Heart Study. The participants' parents had reported 106 strokes by age 65, and subjects reported 128 strokes over the 40-year study...

Carnegie Mellon Initiative To Commercialize Quality Of Life Technologies Boosted By NSF Grant
An already promising initiative to assist start-up firms that commercialize technologies associated with the Quality of Life Technology (QoLT) Center is now expanding thanks to a three-year, $1.5 million Innovation Award from the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Division of Engineering Education and Centers. The QoLT Center, an NSF Engineering Research Center jointly run by Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh, develops intelligent systems to improve daily living, particularly for those people whose capabilities have diminished because of age or disability...

Biochemist Researching Computer Models Of Protein Structure That Help High School, College Students
An award from the National Science Foundation will boost a Kansas State University professor's contribution to the study of proteins while also helping college and high school science teachers learn more about computational and structural biology. Jianhan Chen, an assistant professor of biochemistry, is receiving more than $670,000 as a CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation...

Traumatized London Bombing Survivors Benefit From Outreach Program
A new mental health outreach programme set up after the 2005 London bombings has successfully identified and treated hundreds of survivors. After the 7/7 bombings in 2005 a group of clinical psychologists targeted nearly a thousand survivors of the attacks by painstakingly compiling hospital treatment records, police witness files and referrals from GPs. The need for this new method of reaching potential patients was evident after results showed that only 4% of patients contacted by the programme had been referred for treatment by their GPs - the traditional pathway to mental heath care...

Immigrants With Disabilities More Frequently Employed Than US-Born Persons With Disabilities
Currently, foreign-born people make up approximately 13 percent of the total U.S. population. As the immigrant population grows, understanding its disability status and employment characteristics becomes increasingly important. People, both native and foreign-born, with disabilities make important contributions to our society, and many individuals continue to work despite a wide range of impairments...

Need For Broader Use Of Individualized Learning Plans For Physicians
Physicians would be better prepared for the accelerating rate of scientific discovery - and more in step with the latest in patient-care - if they added an important tool to their medical bags: a plan for how to keep pace with emerging health-care advances. That is the finding of a national study published online in the journal Academic Pediatrics which examines whether pediatric residents know how to develop plans to ensure they'll keep abreast of current medical practice...

New Method To Grow Arteries Could Lead To 'Biological Bypass' For Heart Disease
A new method of growing arteries could lead to a "biological bypass" - or a non-invasive way to treat coronary artery disease, Yale School of Medicine researchers report with their colleagues in the April issue of Journal of Clinical Investigation. Coronary arteries can become blocked with plaque, leading to a decrease in the supply of blood and oxygen to the heart. Over time this blockage can lead to debilitating chest pain or heart attack. Severe blockages in multiple major vessels may require coronary artery bypass graft surgery, a major invasive surgery...

Researchers Find Exposure To BPA May Cause Permanent Fertility Defects
Researchers at Yale School of Medicine have discovered that exposure during pregnancy to Bisphenol A (BPA), a common component of plastics, causes permanent abnormalities in the uterus of offspring, including alteration in their DNA. The findings were reported in the March issue of Journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB J.). Led by Hugh S. Taylor, M.D., professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences at Yale, the study is the first to show that BPA exposure permanently affects sensitivity to estrogen...

Johns Hopkins Hospital Earns 2010 'Hospital Of Choice' Award
The Johns Hopkins Hospital has again received the 2010 American Alliance of Healthcare Providers' (AAHCP) American Hospital of Choice Award. Johns Hopkins has been selected for this award seven times since the award's inception in 2002. The award is designed to find America's most customer-friendly hospitals based either on an extensive application process, or by a review of a facility's public communication and staff interaction with customers...

The Prevalence Of Cyberbullying And Its Psychological Impact On Nonheterosexual Youth Revealed By New Study
Schools are typically on guard against students who bully by inflicting repeated violence on other students. But technology has given rise to a relatively new form of bullying which inflicts emotional harm in a stealth manner, working through Web sites, chat rooms, e-mail, cell phones and instant messaging...

Program Could Help Teens Control Asthma
An asthma program specifically tailored to teens could help those in rural areas manage their disease and avoid potentially fatal complications, Medical College of Georgia researchers say. Black males have a death rate from asthma that is six times greater than their white counterparts, and Dr. Dennis Ownby, chief in the MCG School of Medicine Section of Allergy and Immunology, believes asthma rates are as bad in rural areas as they are in inner cities. "The prevalence is probably the same in rural areas," he said...

Haiti Relief Operations Supported By Navy Scientists
Scientists at the Naval Research Laboratory at Stennis Space Center are supporting Haiti relief operations. The Marine Geosciences Division's Geospatial Sciences and Technology branch is providing a specially configured version of its patented NRL Tile Server and Geospatial Information Database (GIDB) that will host maps, imagery and other geospatial information for dedicated use in Haiti relief missions. This version of the NRL Tile Server and GIDB resides on computer systems at NRL-SSC. NRL scientists set up this dedicated resource in response to the Haiti earthquake...

New Survey Finds Out What Americans Are Really Paying Attention To When Choosing Foods
Americans recognize things need to change in the grocery aisle, and they support Uncle Sam's efforts to overhaul what is included in their food and on the packages. The majority also believe they are individually responsible for making the right food choices to avoid obesity, but will readily accept the government's help to be successful, according to a new survey by FoodMinds...

Risk Of Developing Cataracts Increased By Anti-Depressants
Some anti-depressant drugs are associated with an increased chance of developing cataracts, according to a new statistical study by researchers at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute and McGill University. The study, based on a database of more than 200,000 Quebec residents aged 65 and older, showed statistical relationships between a diagnosis of cataracts or cataract surgery and the class of drugs called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), as well as between cataracts and specific drugs within that class...

The Potential For Using Algae To Produce Human Therapeutic Proteins
Pharmaceutical companies could substantially reduce the expense of costly treatments for cancer and other diseases produced from mammalian or bacterial cells by growing these human therapeutic proteins in algae - rapidly growing aquatic plant cells that have recently gained attention for their ability to produce biofuels...

Controlled Study Finds Possible Early Warning Signs For Autism Spectrum Disorders Within Families
A new study suggests a trend toward developing hyperactivity among typically developing elementary-school-aged siblings of autistic preschoolers and supports the notion that mothers of young, autistic children experience more depression and stress than mothers with typically developing children...

Research Answers The Question, 'Who Am I Without You?'
When a romantic relationship ends, an individual's self-concept is vulnerable to change, according to research in the February issue of Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin (published by SAGE). Self-concept is defined as a person's sense of "me." Romantic partners develop shared friends, activities and even overlapping self-concepts. Using three studies, the researchers examined self-concept changes that can occur after a breakup. They found that individuals have reduced self-concept clarity after a breakup. This reduced clarity can contribute to emotional distress...

Discovery Of Gene For Newly Recognized Disease In Amish Children
The gene for a newly recognized disease has been identified thanks to the determination of an Amish father and the clinical skills and persistence of Indiana University and Riley Hospital for Children physicians in collaboration with physicians and researchers at the Clinic for Special Children in Lancaster County, Penn., which specializes in disorders of the Amish. The identification of the new multisystem autoimmune disorder and the recessive gene that causes it have been published early online and are reported in the 12 March 2010 print issue of the American Journal of Human Genetics...

Violent Crime 'Race Gap' Narrows, But Persists In U.S.
The U.S. 'race gap' in the commission of violent crime has narrowed substantially, yet persists - with murder arrest rates for African Americans still out-distancing those for whites - concludes a new 80-city study by the University of Maryland, Florida State University and the University of Oregon. While the gap had been cut by more than half in the 1970s, it grew again in the '80s with the advent of crack cocaine. The researchers find the gap most pronounced in communities with higher rates of divorce, unemployment and illegal drug use...

Health Care Partnership Examined In Canadian Medical Association Journal
A research team from the Laval Centre de sante et de services sociaux, Universite de Montreal and McGill University Health Centre has examined the benefits of greater collaboration between family physicians and community pharmacists for select patients. Published in the March 8 edition of the Canadian Medical Association Journal, the research project focused on patients with high levels of cholesterol who are at risk of cardiovascular disease. In all, 77 family physicians, 108 community pharmacists and 225 patients were recruited for the study...

Finding New Ways To Disarm Deadly South American Hemorrhagic Fever Viruses
New World hemorrhagic fevers are emerging infectious diseases found in South America that can cause terrible, Ebola-like symptoms. Current treatments are expensive and only partially effective. Now, Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) researchers have discovered exactly how one type of New World hemorrhagic fever virus latches onto and infects human cells, offering a much-needed lead toward new treatments. "New World hemorrhagic fevers are nasty, serious, and often fatal diseases," says Stephen C...

Novel Program Translates Behavioral And Social Science Research Into Treatments To Reduce Obesity
Under a $7.1 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, Rush University Medical Center is developing a novel program, called WISHFIT, to help pre-menopausal women reduce visceral fat through a sustained increase in physical activity and reduction in stress. The program itself will be designed by both Rush researchers and women in two Southside Chicago communities, Beverly and Morgan Park. These communities were the subjects of studies over the past 15 years that found a link between the changing hormonal balance in the peri-menopausal years to the accumulation of visceral fat...

BC Psychologist Named 2010 Sloan Research Fellow
Sara Cordes, an assistant professor of psychology at Boston College, is among 118 outstanding early career scientists, mathematicians, and economists to be named Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellows for 2010, the Sloan Foundation has announced. The Sloan fellowship is a highly competitive award, with winners at 56 colleges and universities in the United States and Canada who are conducting research at the frontiers of physics, chemistry, computational and evolutionary molecular biology, computer science, economics, mathematics and neuroscience...

Washington, D.C., To Become First U.S. City To Distribute Free Female Condoms
Washington, D.C., soon will become the first city in the U.S. to distribute female condoms at no charge, the Washington Post reports. Around 500,000 female condoms will be available within the next three weeks in beauty salons, convenience stores and high schools in parts of the city where a study found that large numbers of black heterosexuals engage in risky sexual behavior that raises their chances of contracting HIV. Shannon Hader, director of the D.C. HIV/AIDS Administration, said, "Anywhere male condoms are available, female condoms will be available...

Sex Education, Contraception Key To Lowering Abortion Rate Among Blacks, Guttmacher CEO Writes
In a New York Times letter to the editor published on Monday, Guttmacher Institute President and Chief Executive Sharon Camp calls for the U.S. to "get serious about providing better health care and more educational and economic opportunities for black women." Responding to a recent Times article on antiabortion-rights groups' campaigns to target black women, Camps writes that "abortion within the African-American community should be discussed in its proper context...

Obama Taking To Road To Appeal To Skeptical Public, Skittish Lawmakers
The Associated Press: President Barack Obama will travel to Philadelphia today to "try to persuade the public to back his plan to remake the nation's health care system, while also urging uneasy lawmakers to cast a 'final vote' for a massive reform bill in an election year." Obama will then travel to St. Louis Wednesday. "Party leaders are narrowing in on a strategy that calls for House Democrats to go along with a health care bill the Senate passed in December. ... But full Democratic support is far from certain...

Virginia Bill May Prompt State-Federal Fight Over Insurance Mandate
A bill in the Virginia state legislature could upend a critical provision of the Democrats' health overhaul and open the door for a fresh battle over the federal government's power over states, The Boston Globe reports. "The Virginia Legislature this week is poised to become the first state to pass legislation that says citizens cannot be required to have medical insurance." Virginia joins "dozens of other states" that have floated similar measures that would ban the implementation of a federal mandate that citizens buy insurance, a key tenet of the Democrats' overhaul plan...

State Roundup: N.Y. Drug Pricing, Vermont Hospital Ads, Massachusetts Nursing Homes And Anti-Psychotics
Poughkeepsie Journal: A new report on New York drug prices, "issued by the New York Public Interest Research Group, Consumers Union, the Center for Medical Consumers and AARP, looked at the price of the 10 most popular drugs found in the state's pharmacies provided through a Freedom of Information Law request. The analysis found a drastic price difference in the same drugs offered in different locations" (Campbell, 3/6)...

Unequal Health Care, Neglect, And Sex-Selective Infanticide, Abortion Lead To Large Gender Gap In Asia, Report Finds
"Nearly 100 million women across Asia have 'disappeared' because of a huge and growing gender gap that has fatally deprived them of access to health care and food and has led to widespread abortions of female fetuses, according to a U.N. report released Monday," the Associated Press reports. The U.N...

Tetanus, Hepatitis Vaccination Campaign Launched In Chile Amid Fears Of Disease Outbreaks
"Chile launched a hepatitis and tetanus vaccination campaign Friday and doctors warned of outbreaks of diarrhea and infection among thousands of people displaced by the earthquake and the tsunami that heavily damaged or destroyed 36 hospitals and made garbage dumps of coastal towns and cities," the Associated Press reports. So far, no dysentery outbreaks or other communicable diseases had been reported, Chile's health ministry said, adding that it believed it had adequate amounts of tetanus and hepatitis vaccinations...

Nutrition Services For Older Adults At Home And In Communities
The Society for Nutrition Education (SNE) has partnered with the American Dietetic Association (ADA) and American Society for Nutrition (ASN) to publish a position paper, "Position of the American Dietetic Association, American Society for Nutrition, and Society for Nutrition Education: Food and Nutrition Programs for Community-Residing Older Adults," focusing on access to safe and adequate food and nutrition services, including nutrition education, for the increasing number of older adults who receive health care in their homes or communities rather than in nursing homes o...

Infectious Virus Hidden In Chromosomes During Latency Can Be Passed From Parents To Children
Human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) infects nearly 100 percent of humans in early childhood, and the infection then lasts for the rest of a person's life. Now, a team led by Peter Medveczky, MD, a professor in the Department of Molecular Medicine at the University of South Florida (USF), has discovered that in some individuals, HHV-6 causes such a permanent infection by inserting or "integrating" its DNA into human chromosomes. From this harbor, the viral DNA cannot be eliminated by the immune system...

Autism Walk Expects 15,000 People
Thousands will unite for autism at the 8th annual Los Angeles Walk Now for Autism Speaks at the Pasadena Rose Bowl, Saturday, April 24, 2010. Powered by volunteers and families with loved ones on the autism spectrum, this fundraising effort generates vital funds for autism research, awareness and family services. Autism is the fastest-growing serious developmental disorder, with 1% of the population affected...

New Research Shows Immune Cells Use Bungee Of Death To Kill Dangerous Cells
Immune cells ensnare dangerous cells that are on the run with a bungee-like nanotube, according to research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The study, by researchers from Imperial College London, shows that natural killer (NK) cells use this bungee to destroy cells that could otherwise escape them. NK cells are our first line of defence against dangerous cells, such as tumour cells and cells infected with bacteria and viruses. Researchers are keen to understand how NK cells work because they help the body to fight infection and stop tumours from growing...

Dietary Supplements Discouraged For Prostate Cancer Patients
Prostate-specific dietary supplements should not be taken during radiation therapy treatments because they have been shown to increase the radiosensitivity of normal prostate cell lines, leading to normal tissue complications, according to a study in the March issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology*Biology*Physics, the official journal of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO). Many prostate cancer patients choose to take nutritional supplements to improve or increase sexual potency and alleviate symptoms associated with poor prostate health...

New Approach To Immune Cell Analysis Seen As First Step To Better Distinguish Health And Disease
Investigators have developed a new mathematical approach to analyze molecular data derived from complex mixtures of immune cells. This approach, when combined with well-established techniques, readily identifies changes in small samples of human whole blood, and has the potential to distinguish between health and disease states. Led by Mark Davis, Ph.D., and Atul Butte, M.D., Ph.D., of Stanford University, Calif...

Online Dating And The Link Between Depression And Relational Uncertainty
There's no doubt that meeting partners on the Internet is a growing trend. But can we trust the information that people provide about themselves via online dating services? And why is depression so dissatisfying in relationships? These two questions are explored in articles appearing in the latest issue of the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, published by SAGE. The authors also discuss their findings in a new podcast series: Relationship Matters...

The Long-Term Consequences Of Intravenous Nutrition On Children's Health
Children with serious intestinal problems have to be fed intravenously. Systems exist that enable intravenous feeding to be carried out at home. Mr Inaki Irastorza, paediatrician at the Cruces hospital in Bilbao, spent some 15 years analysing how serious intestinal problems in children were treated at the Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital in London. With the gathered data he has presented a highly novel PhD thesis at the University of the Basque Country...

Immune Cells Use 'Bungee Of Death' To Kill Dangerous Cells
Immune cells use a bungee-like nanotube to snare dangerous cells, according to new research funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC). The findings by researchers from Imperial College London show that natural killer (NK) cells use this bungee, called a membrane nanotube, to destroy cells that could otherwise escape them. NK cells are the first line of defence against dangerous cells, such as tumour cells and cells infected with bacteria and viruses, and researchers are keen to understand how they help the body fight infection and stop tumours from growing...

Scientists Shed New Light On How Retina's Hardware Is Used In Color Vision
Biologists at New York University and the University of Würzburg have identified, in greater detail, how the retina's cellular hardware is used in color preference. The findings, published in the latest issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), enhance our understanding of how eyes and the brain process color. Light can serve as an attractive or repulsive landmark for orientation - we identify an object or a light source at a certain location in visual space, then approach it or retreat from it. This process, called phototaxis, was the focus of the PNAS study...

ESMO Conference On Sarcoma And GIST: Spotlight On Rare Tumors In Hunt For New Cancer Treatments
New breakthrough treatments for the most common cancers could soon come from cutting-edge research into some of the world's rarest tumors. At the ESMO Conference on Sarcoma and GIST, to be held in Milan, Italy, on 9 and 10 March 2010, researchers and some of the world's leading experts will discuss exciting new science on sarcomas - a group of rare tumors found in muscle, blood vessels, deep skin tissues, nerves and the tissues around joints. Although these cancers only affect a relatively small number of people, researchers say understanding them could have far wider ramifications...

Nasty Or Nice? Two-Faced Testosterone
Is aggression always the best response to a challenge? Testosterone may not necessarily cause aggression but behavior can drive testosterone secretion. In an evaluation for Faculty of 1000, Robert Sapolsky highlights a study published in Nature which assessed how testosterone affects human behavior in a 'pro-social' situation - an environment where it is beneficial for a person to help someone else. In an 'Ultimatum Game', a 'proposer' is given power to decide how a sum of money is divided between him/herself and another player, 'the decider'...

Stem Cells Of Humans And Mice Differ More Strongly Than Suspected: New Study Calls Research Factors Into Question
They are considered to be the most important model organism for research into human biology: mice may look totally different, but they are in many ways similar to Homo sapiens on a fundamental level. For instance, an impressive 99 per cent of the mouse genes are matched by a corresponding sequence in the human genome. That is also why the law in this part of the world only permits scientists to conduct research on human embryo stem cells when they have "clarified in advance" their specific questions by using animal cells as far as possible...

Senate Judiciary Committee Approves Office Of Legal Counsel Nominee Johnsen For Second Time
The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday voted 12-7 along party lines to approve the nomination of Dawn Johnsen to be assistant attorney general for the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel, CQ Today reports. The committee had already approved Johnsen nearly one year ago, but her nomination was never brought to the full Senate. President Obama re-nominated Johnsen in January after the first nomination expired at the end of 2009...

Politico Opinion Pieces Argue For U.S. Investment In Global Women's Issues
On International Women's Day, Politico published two opinion pieces discussing the benefits of U.S. aid to support women overseas. ~ Dana Perino, Politico: "Empowering one woman is an investment in the future of families and countries," Perino -- a former press secretary to President George W. Bush -- writes in an opinion piece discussing her work with Women ONE2ONE in Africa. She notes that "[o]ne in every 22 African mothers die in childbirth, more than 200 times the rate in the United States...

Former Deputy Kansas AG Seeks To Have Attorney Removed From Ethics Panel
Former Kansas Deputy Attorney General Eric Rucker is attempting to have Patricia Dengler, a Wichita attorney, disqualified from a panel considering an abortion-related ethics complaint against him, the AP/Fort Scott Tribune reports. Rucker is accused of, among other things, lying to the Kansas Supreme Court in arguments during a 2005 abortion case involving an investigation of the late George Tiller, a Kansas abortion provider, and a Planned Parenthood clinic between 2003 and 2008. Rucker's ex-boss, former state Attorney General Phill Kline, also is facing an ethics complaint...

Democrats Pressure Stupak On Abortion; Split Threatening Health Bill
A split among Democrats on abortion is threatening to derail efforts to overhaul the nation's health care system. The Hill reports that "lawmakers took sides over whether the final health care bill contains language that would allow people receiving government subsidized health care to obtain an abortion and a White House official accused abortion opponent Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) of being 'misinformed' about the Senate bill...

Medicare Payment Issues Raise Questions, Concerns
Medicare payment issues including rising costs, caps on physical therapy and other outpatient services for some patients are in the news. The Dallas Morning News reports that Medicare Advantage plans with drug benefits are getting more expensive: "Seniors in those plans will pay an average of $39.61 a month this year in premiums, up 14.2 percent from 2009, according to Avalere Health, a Washington health advisory firm. In contrast, the average monthly premium for those plans rose by only 5.2 percent from 2008 to 2009...

Today's OpEds: Positive And Negative Consequences Of Health Reform
If Reform Fails The New York Times Any change as big as this is bound to cause anxiety. Republicans have happily fanned those fears with talk of "dangerous experiments" on the "best health care system in the world." The fact is that the health care system is broken for far too many Americans. And the country cannot afford the status quo (3/6)...