U.S. Residents Face Risks Regardless Of Health Insurance Status, Opinion Piece States August 31, 2007
About 45 million U.S. residents lack health insurance, but the "rest of us with health coverage are also uninsured" because those with coverage face "terrible, albeit more remote, health care risks," columnist Laurence Kotlikoff writes in a Boston Globe opinion piece. [click link for full article]
Fast And Cost Effective Test For Safer Water
A simpler technique for testing public drinking water samples for the presence of the radioactive element radium can dramatically reduce the amount of time required to conduct the sampling required by federal regulations. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has approved use of the new testing method. [click link for full article]
Republican Presidential Candidates Discuss Health Care At Cancer Forum
Presidential candidates Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) on Tuesday during the second day of a cancer forum in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, discussed issues related to the disease and health care, the Denver Post reports (Denver Post, 8/28). [click link for full article]
IT helps to Prevent Misdiagnosis
Isabel Healthcare, Inc. has announced that University of Virginia Hospital is using the Isabel’s diagnosis decision support and knowledge mobilizing system to improve patient care by attempting to help minimize diagnostic errors. It is the state’s first medical center to provide physicians with access to Isabel, a Web-based system proven to improve the quality of diagnosis at the point of care. [click link for full article]
Rights Groups Call On Homeland Security Department To Investigate Death Of HIV-Positive Person At Immigration Detention Center
The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California and Human Rights Watch in a letter sent on Monday to the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General called on the department to investigate the death of an HIV-positive inmate at a San Pedro, Calif., immigration detention center, the Los Angeles Times reports. [click link for full article]
Secrets Of Red Tide Revealed
In work that could one day help prevent millions of dollars in economic losses for seaside communities, chemists have demonstrated how tiny marine organisms likely produce the red tide toxin that periodically shuts down US beaches and shellfish beds. This work could help prevent red tide outbreaks.
Promising New Targets For Antibiotics Found
Researchers have identified new sites on the bacterial cell's protein-making machinery where antibiotics can be delivered to treat infections. They tested many options. Of the thousands of mutations tested, 77 were detrimental to the function of the ribosome. The regions where those mutations lie can be targeted by new antibiotics, which may be used to treat such diseases as tuberculosis and pneumonia, one of the scientists said.
Halting High-Speed Pursuits
A tire deflation device (TDD) is a strip that contains embedded metal spikes. The strip is thrown over the road in front of a speeding vehicle, deflating the tires and forcing it to stop. This device lets law enforcement stop a speeding vehicle safely, often without the need of a dangerous high-speed pursuit.
Novel Cause Of Iron Overload In Thalassemia Disorders Discovered
Researchers have discovered a novel cause of iron overload in patients with thalassemia. According to the study, thalassemia patients overproduce a protein called GDF15, which suppresses the production of a liver protein, hepcidin, which in turn leads to an increase in the uptake of dietary iron in the gut. This finding has implications for iron metabolism in other diseases and may contribute to the future development of therapies for thalassemia.
Chemists Get Grip On Slippery Lipids
Findings on the structure and functions of two proteins that bind with lipids reveal new insight into cell signaling and trafficking mechanisms. The ability of the body's cells to correctly receive and convey signals is crucial to good health. Lipids, or fats, play a critical role in this regulation by providing spaces for proteins to gather and network. They are helped in this process by protein molecules called lipid binding domains. Understanding how these domains work may open up new targets of opportunity for drug development to treat illnesses such as cancer, diabetes and various inflammatory diseases.
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