December 2, 2014
(Medical Xpress) – The White House says the Obama administration is making strides in the fight against Ebola, citing an expanded hospital network and testing capacity at home and gains confronting the deadly disease in West Africa. To sustain that, … Read More
December 2, 2014
(Phys.org) – Genome engineering with the RNA-guided CRISPR-Cas9 system in animals and plants is changing biology. It is easier to use and more efficient than other genetic engineering tools, thus it is already being applied in laboratories all over the … Read More
December 2, 2014
(Forbes) – Earlier this month, Kaiser Health News reported that “more hospitals are receiving penalties than bonuses in the second year of Medicare’s quality incentive program, and the average penalty is steeper than it was last year.” Kaiser wasn’t the … Read More
December 2, 2014
(Medical News Today) – Using DNA samples from research unrelated to cancer, two teams of scientists have uncovered early, pre-cancerous genetic changes in the blood that are linked to increased chances of developing blood cancers such as leukemia, lymphoma, or … Read More
December 2, 2014
(Medical Xpress) – A new study that challenges the prevailing view of how bowel cancer develops in the large intestine is published today in Nature Medicine. Cancer Research UK scientists have discovered that bowel cancer may not be restricted to … Read More
December 2, 2014
(Scoop) – A new international study into the safety of oral contraceptive pills has found no significant difference in risk between different types of pill. This is good news for New Zealand women following suggestions that some contraceptive pills, such … Read More
December 2, 2014
(The Telegraph) – Dementia sufferers lack proper care because the illness is not recognised as a terminal diagnosis, according to a report from leading charities. The report, by Marie Curie and the Alzheimer’s Society, highlighted the issues faced by dementia … Read More
December 2, 2014
(Bioscience Technology) – A team of researchers have created the world’s first enzymes made from artificial genetic material. A team of researchers have created the world’s first enzymes made from artificial genetic material. The research is published in the journal … Read More
December 2, 2014
(MSKCC) – Since the late 1990s, when researchers first reported a technique to isolate and grow human embryonic stem cells, known as ES cells, in culture, experts have deliberated the many possible uses for them. Among these are developing better … Read More
December 2, 2014
(BBC) – The medical world was shattered when trusted GP Harold Shipman was exposed as a serial killer, responsible for the deaths of up to 215 patients. Shipman killed himself in 2004 – but the spectre of his case still … Read More
December 2, 2014
(PR Newswire) – On 2 December 2014 the Global Freedom Network (GFN) will bring together faith leaders forming a historic initiative to eradicate modern slavery by 2020 throughout our world and for all time. They will sign the Joint Declaration … Read More
December 1, 2014
(The Boston Globe) – It is a fascinating quirk of nature: Simple bacteria have an immune system with a memory, which allows them to destroy invading viruses they have encountered in the past. The phenomenon is more than just a … Read More
December 1, 2014
(Medical Daily) – Reproductive medicine’s partnership with medical genetics may change the way we birth future generations and how we look at our power to conceive. Combined, they could purify our children of disease and genetic mutations before they’re even … Read More
December 1, 2014
(Medical News Today) – A drug currently undergoing testing as a treatment for cancer may also be effective against some symptoms of fragile X syndrome – an inherited form of autism. This is according to a study published in the … Read More
December 1, 2014
(Montreal Gazette) – Last call. As the head of the federation for Quebec’s medical specialists, Gaétan Barrette had criticized the province’s costly but popular in vitro fertilization program as an “open bar.” Now Quebec’s health minister, Barrette tabled a bill … Read More
December 1, 2014
(The Guardian) – National Legislative Assembly member Chet Siratharanon said the bill passed its first reading on Thursday, and a finalised version was expected to be ready for consideration within 30 days. The interim government installed after a military coup … Read More
December 1, 2014
(Forbes) – You don’t often hear of books dedicated to patient advocacy in the stem cell field. But Inevitable Collision, by Tory Williams, may inspire more. Williams, at one time a school teacher, single mother, and aspiring novelist, has pledged to … Read More
December 1, 2014
(The Telegraph) – One in three doctors supports assisted dying and a growing number would help their own patients to die, a survey of 8,000 medics has found. The poll by the Royal College of Physicians comes as the Lords … Read More
December 1, 2014
(Time) – There have been 260 new cases of polio diagnosed in the South Asian nation this year. Public-health workers continue to be gunned down at will by Islamic militants across Pakistan, where ongoing attacks against vaccination teams have hampered … Read More
December 1, 2014
(Medical Xpress) – Researchers at the Center for iPS Cell Research and Application (CiRA), Kyoto University, show that induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells can be used to correct genetic mutations that cause Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). The research, published in … Read More
December 1, 2014
(Harvard Business Review) – Accountable care organizations (ACOs) are widely regarded as part of the solution to a fragmented health care system — one plagued by duplicative services, avoidable errors, and other impediments to efficiency and quality. But 20 years … Read More
December 1, 2014
(ABC.net) – More regulation of overseas surrogacy arrangements is needed, a long-awaited review of Western Australia’s surrogacy laws has found. The review was already underway when the case of baby Gammy made international headlines earlier this year. The baby’s Thai … Read More
December 1, 2014
(The Guardian) – Others are making progress in growing liver and heart tissue; one team in London is busy growing blood vessels, noses and ears; and some have even managed to grow tiny chunks of brain tissue, the most complex … Read More
November 26, 2014
(Reuters) – The Western world’s first gene therapy drug is set to go on sale in Germany with a 1.1 million euro ($1.4 million) price tag, a new record for a medicine to treat a rare disease. The sky-high cost … Read More
November 26, 2014
(Nature) – The US website ClinicalTrials.gov is the world’s largest repository of clinical-trial information, containing the results of more than 179,000 studies conducted in 187 countries. Yet the database represents only a fraction of the trials that are run. Despite US … Read More
