September 21, 2007
New data show that a vaccine against the virus that causes cervical cancer partially blocks infection by 10 strains of the virus on top of the four types the vaccine targets. That boosts protection — at least partially — to … Read More
September 21, 2007
Newsflash: Health insurance is expensive. OK, so that’s not news to anyone. But what may be news to you is why insurance premiums are so high. A common explanation is that insurance and drug companies are greedy. This narrative is … Read More
September 21, 2007
The hospital plans to offer a $20 incentive to any patient who donates an eight-ounce vial of blood to a new Biobank, a warehouse of DNA and plasma that is a central component of the hospital’s Institute for Personalized Medicine. … Read More
September 21, 2007
Many scientists are predicting that affordable personal genomes will be reality in as little as five years, bringing with them the promise of health care tailor-made for individuals. But are we ready as a society for all that this entails? … Read More
September 21, 2007
More than one-third of the U.S. population under the age of 65 went without health insurance for all or part of the last two years, a consumer group said on Thursday. The nonprofit Families USA group used data from last … Read More
September 21, 2007
President Bush, bracing for a series of battles with Congress over spending, threatened on Thursday to veto a bill expanding a popular children’s health insurance program, calling it “a step toward federalization of health care.†(New York Times)
September 20, 2007
Clinical Genetics articles are now available by subscription only. Reviews “The role of common genetic risk variants in Parkinson disease” by E-K Tan. HotSpots “Genetics of Noonan syndrome – a new gene, and the search is still on” by RA … Read More
September 20, 2007
Whilst I have been sojourning in the land of incredible pasta, a lot has been happening on the adult stem cell front. In order to catch up, I’ll just include a few links and let those of you who are … Read More
September 20, 2007
Not to prevent suicide, but to help you learn how to do the deed: A new how-to-commit-suicide hot line, er “counseling” service brought to you from the zealots at Compassion and Choices (formerly Hemlock Society). Typically in efforts such as … Read More
September 20, 2007
Zheng Cui at Wake Forest University of Medicine in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and his colleagues have received permission from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to screen people for their ability to ward off cancer. Immune cells from the … Read More
September 20, 2007
Researchers say they have found a way to pluck out a potent type of stem cell from the testes of adult mice and transform it into other kinds of tissue, including heart muscle and blood vessels. (Scientific American)
September 20, 2007
The bill combined several pieces of legislation governing drug industry user fees, new rules involving the disclosure of clinical trial results, money for studies of older medicines, incentives for tests in children and even the conflicts of interest of drug … Read More
September 20, 2007
Scientists are turning to pigs for help in defeating diabetes with a treatment being tested at Moscow’s Sklifosovsky Institute. Doctors at the institute in central Moscow last week injected pig cells into diabetic patients in the clinical trial of a … Read More
September 20, 2007
In a study illustrating the potential downside of prenatal genetic testing, researchers reported Tuesday that 25 percent of couples whose unborn babies had a certain genetic mutation chose to terminate their pregnancies—even though that particular abnormality probably would not have … Read More
September 20, 2007
Health Secretary Alan Johnson has asked advisers to look at whether everyone in England should be put on the organ donor register unless they opt out. (BBC)
September 20, 2007
In the Spring 2007 issue of The New Atlantis, editor Adam Keiper wrote an article “Nanoethics as a Discipline?” that was critical and skeptical about the study of nanotechnology’s ethical and social implications. The following is our reply to that … Read More
September 20, 2007
CONTROVERSIAL new procedures in cosmetic medicine, like genital rejuvenation or buttock implant surgery, tend to take hold on the West or East Coasts and then move inland. But, during the last two years, a procedure called lipodissolve, which uses injections … Read More
September 19, 2007
Despite advances in medicine and medical technology, there is a growing population of aging patients with complex health problems who are poorly served by even the best intensive care units. To help these patients, who often have multiple chronic conditions … Read More
September 19, 2007
Technology from inkjet printer cartridges could be used to inject medicines painlessly through the skin from a patch on the arm. The device uses a system patented by HP to push drugs through tiny needles, which do not go far … Read More
September 19, 2007
When I say “amyloid,” of course, almost everyone thinks of beta-amyloid protein (also called “amyloid beta”), which accumulates as the waxy “senile plaques” that cluster around the brain cells of people with Alzheimer’s disease. –Aubrey de Grey, Ending Aging: The … Read More
September 19, 2007
Imagine a procedure by which an inherited disorder — say, hemophilia — can be permanently eliminated from a family’s gene pool. It’s not the stuff of science fiction; it’s called pre-implantation genetic diagnosis and has become a tool for fertility … Read More
September 19, 2007
Physician-assisted suicide advocates – unable to pass legislation and short on cash to push a statewide ballot initiative – will announce today the creation of a consultation service to offer information to the terminally ill and even provide volunteers for … Read More
September 19, 2007
The government should change the law to oblige police to remove the DNA samples of innocent people from the police national DNA database, a group of experts said Tuesday. (AFP)
September 19, 2007
In order to explore the relationship between intellectual property rights and life science innovations, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is organising policy symposia to identify and clarify the intellectual property dimension in the life sciences. (Intellectual Property Watch)
September 19, 2007
U.S. scientists have discovered a nanomaterial that can improve orthopedic implants and might lead to implants that can sense and report on bone growth. (ScienceDaily)
