By Agence France-Presse Saturday, September 22, 2012 1:15 EDT Topics: narcolepsy ♦ Sweden and Finland ♦ Swine flu vaccine A swine flu vaccine used in 2009-10 is linked to a higher risk of the sleeping disorder narcolepsy in children and… Read More ›
Pharmaceutical – Medical Devices
What those guys are doing to make Universal Culling, oh excuse me Health Care a more efficient process….
The drugs don’t work: a modern medical scandal
The doctors prescribing the drugs don’t know they don’t do what they’re meant to. Nor do their patients. The manufacturers know full well, but they’re not telling. Ben Goldacre The Guardian, Friday 21 September 2012 18.00 EDT Drugs are tested by… Read More ›
Researchers Map Molecular Details That Encourage H1N1 Transmission To Humans
The 2009 H1N1 pandemic influenza virus appears to have required certain mutations in order to be transmitted to humans, according to a paper in the September Journal of Virology. The research could prove extremely valuable for efforts to predict human… Read More ›
Statins are unlikely to prevent blood clots
Press release from PLOS Medicine Despite previous studies suggesting the contrary, statins (cholesterol-lowering drugs) may not prevent blood clots (venous thrombo-embolism) in adults, according to a large analysis by international researchers published in this week’s PLOS Medicine. In 2009, an… Read More ›
Addictive properties of drug abuse may hold key to an HIV cure, Florida State University biologist believes
September 21, 2012 FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2012 Addictive properties of certain drugs may hold key to an HIV cure Tom Butler 09/12/2012 2:02 pm A Florida State University researcher is on a mission to explore the gene-controlling effects of addictive… Read More ›
Mosquito virus could lead to new vaccines and drugs: Eilat
Contact: Jim Kelly jpkelly@utmb.edu 409-772-8791 University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston Although closely related to deadly pathogens, newly discovered Eilat virus is harmless and potentially valuable A mosquito sample collected three decades ago in Israel’s Negev Desert has yielded… Read More ›
Nudge or Think: What works best for our society?
If approached in the right way, citizens are willing to change their behaviour and do more to help themselves and others, according to research funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). 21 September 2012 If approached in the… Read More ›
Retraction record rocks community: One of the biggest purges of the scientific literature in history is finally getting under way
Anaesthesiology tries to move on after fraud investigations. David Cyranoski 19 September 2012 One of the biggest purges of the scientific literature in history is finally getting under way. After more than a decade of suspicion about the work of anaesthesiologist… Read More ›
Europe Scraps Airports Scanners… cause cancer
Monday, 17 September 2012 Controversial airport ‘strip-search’ scanners are to be scrapped after they failed to get approval from European bosses. Experts feared the ‘naked’ body scanners, which use X-ray technology to show up hidden explosives or weapons, could emit… Read More ›
As Prescription Painkiller Overdoses Mount, Researchers Outline Effective Approaches to Curb Epidemic: Kills MoreThan Heroin and Cocaine combined
Sep 19, 2012 WASHINGTON — Prescription painkillers are responsible for more fatal overdoses in the United States than heroin and cocaine combined. And while most states have programs to curb abuse and addiction, a new report from Brandeis University… Read More ›
Documentary Evidence Reveals Motives of Pharmaceutical “Seeding” Trials
Re-Post for filing 2008 Clinical studies that are designed by pharmaceutical companies to promote use of their drugs are called “seeding” trials. While much has been written about the marketing tactics of the pharmaceutical industry, seeding trials have not been… Read More ›
The pandemic potential of H9N2 avian influenza viruses
Re-Post for Filing 2008 Contact: Beth Cavanaugh bcavana@umd.edu Public Library of Science Since their introduction into land-based birds in 1988, H9N2 avian influenza A viruses have caused multiple human infections and become endemic in domestic poultry in Eurasia. This particular… Read More ›
Medical doctors who do research could be a dying breed
Re post 2008 Contact: Nick Birch nick@biologists.com 44-122-342-6164 The Company of Biologists Britain’s training programs may be contributing to the ‘lost tribe’ of clinician-scientists — medical doctors who also perform laboratory research on disease The road from disease research to… Read More ›
Monsanto Roundup weedkiller and GM maize implicated in ‘shocking’ new cancer study: ” Mammary tumours, severe liver and kidney damage as early as four months”
19 Sep 2012 | By Elinor Zuke The world’s best-selling weedkiller, and a genetically modified maize resistant to it, can cause tumours, multiple organ damage and lead to premature death, new research published today reveals. In the first ever study… Read More ›
Chronic exposure to estrogen impairs some cognitive functions
Contact: Diana Yates diya@illinois.edu 217-333-5802 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign IMAGE:Veterinary biosciences professor Susan Schantz and graduate student Victor Wang found that rats exposed to estradiol were significantly impaired on tasks involving working memory and response inhibition. Click here for… Read More ›
Flu Vaccine offers no Protection in seniors
Respost 2008 Contact: Rebecca Hughes hughes.r@ghc.org 206-287-2055 Group Health Research Institute Flu vaccine may not protect seniors well Group Health study in Lancet finds no less risk of pneumonia with vaccine SEATTLE—A Group Health study in the August 2 issue… Read More ›
Toxic drugs, toxic system: Sociologist predicts drug disasters “Drug disasters are literally built into the current system of drug testing and approvals in the United States,”
Repost 2008 Contact: Jackie Cooper jcooper@asanet.org 202-247-9871 American Sociological Association Study says harm from prescription drugs growing, cites fatal flaws in drug testing, approval and marketing BOSTON — Americans are likely to be exposed to unacceptable side effects of FDA-approved… Read More ›
Insight: In India, gift-giving drives drug makers’ marketing: shower Indian doctors with gifts, posh junkets abroad, and cash payments disguised as consultancy or other types of fees
By Frederik JoelvingPosted 2012/09/17 at 7:20 am EDT MUMBAI, Sep. 17, 2012 (Reuters) — Sales representatives for Abbott Laboratories Inc’s Indian subsidiaries know what it takes to get a doctor to prescribe the drugs they market: a coffee maker, perhaps,… Read More ›
Can we engineer love and morality?
By RICHARD WEIKART The Modesto Bee Published: Sunday, Sep. 16, 2012 – 1:00 am Recently Oxford philosophy professor Julian Savulescu moved his campaign for “moral enhancement” out of the ivory tower and into the mainstream. This month Reader’s Digest… Read More ›
Possible link found between X-rays and prostate cancer
Re-Post 2008 Contact: Professor Kenneth Muir kenneth.muir@nottingham.ac.uk 44-011-582-30469 University of Nottingham Researchers at The University of Nottingham have shown an association between certain past diagnostic radiation procedures and an increased risk of young-onset prostate cancer — a rare form of… Read More ›
Androgen deprivation therapy for localized prostate cancer not associated with improved survival
Re-Post 2008 Contact: Michele Fisher 732-235-9872 JAMA and Archives Journals A therapy that involves depriving the prostate gland the male hormone androgen is not associated with improved survival for elderly men with localized prostate cancer, compared to conservative management of… Read More ›
From vitro to vivo: Fully automated design of synthetic RNA circuits in living cells
From vitro to vivo: Fully automated design of synthetic RNA circuits in living cells September 14, 2012 by Stuart Mason Dambrot Schemes of methodology and designs. (A) Thermodynamic scheme of RNA interaction, showing the different free energies at play and… Read More ›
Mutation causes defective Natural Killer cells
Natural Killer (NK) cells defend the body against infectious diseases and cancer by recognizing and killing stressed or infected cells and patients with NK deficiencies are susceptible to severe viral infections. In this issue of the Journal of Clinical… Read More ›
Scores at risk as new breed of mosquito foils malaria prevention methods: There is NO KNOWN DNA match
Published: 16 September, 2012, 21:14 Annual deaths could jump by the hundreds of thousands because of a new species of mosquito, which bites people in the early evening rather than at night, making bed nets useless in the battle against… Read More ›
DEA shuts down shipments from Walgreen facility : Suspicion that highly addictive painkillers were being diverted to the black market.
Reuters – Fri, Sep 14, 2012 (Reuters) – The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) said it shut down shipments of controlled substances from Walgreen Co’s Florida distribution facility on the suspicion that highly addictive painkillers were being diverted to the… Read More ›
Statins have unexpected effect on pool of powerful brain cells : Reduces Glial progenitor cells
Re-post 34th HRR 2008 Contact: Tom Rickey tom_rickey@urmc.rochester.edu 585-275-7954 University of Rochester Medical Center Cholesterol-lowering drugs known as statins have a profound effect on an elite group of cells important to brain health as we age, scientists at the University… Read More ›
Drug companies do almost no innovation : Innovation comes mainly from NIH-supported research in academic medical centers
Re-Posted for Filing 2008 report New report: The truth about drug innovation New York, NY: A new report co-authored by Manhattan Institute senior fellow Benjamin Zycher, and Joseph DiMasi, and Christopher-Paul Milne, researchers from the Tufts Center for the… Read More ›
Half of drugs prescribed in France useless or dangerous, say two specialists
The doctors claim that the state wastes money on unnecessary medicine that they blame for up to 20,000 deaths annually Kim Willsher in Paris guardian.co.uk, Friday 14 September 2012 12.18 EDT Half of all prescribed drugs are useless or dangerous, two leading… Read More ›
Having a tonsillectomy can cause Obesity
Contact: David March dmarch1@jhmi.edu 410-955-1534 Johns Hopkins Medicine Age, not underlying diagnosis, key factor in weight gain in children after tonsillectomy Potentially worrisome weight gains following tonsillectomy occur mostly in children under the age of 6, not in older children,… Read More ›
‘Spin’ in media reports of scientific articles: 47% of articles contain ‘Spin”
Contact: Sumrina Yousufzai syousufzai@plos.org 415-568-3164 Public Library of Science Press releases and news stories reporting the results of randomized controlled trials often contain “spin”—specific reporting strategies (intentional or unintentional) emphasizing the beneficial effect of the experimental treatment—but such “spin” frequently… Read More ›
Pain drug can kill resistant tuberculosis: Researchers claim may never be tested in TB clinical trials.
Public release date: 10-Sep-2012 [Print | E-mail| Share][ Close Window ] Contact: Lauren Woods law2014@med.cornell.edu 212-821-0560 New York- Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center/Weill Cornell Medical College Researchers find low cost drug wipes out drug resistant TB, but worry it may… Read More ›
Researchers discover mechanism related to negative emotions of cocaine withdrawal
Contact: Eric Sorensen eric.sorensen@wsu.edu 206-799-9186 Washington State University Emotional ‘brakes’ stay on after cocaine wears off PULLMAN, Wash.—Washington State University researchers have found a cellular mechanism that contributes to the lack of motivation and negative emotions of a cocaine addict… Read More ›
Taking painkillers increases death risk, second heart attacks in survivors: 59-63% Higher risk of Death
Contact: Maggie Francis maggie.francis@heart.org 214-706-1382 American Heart Association — Heart attack survivors who take common painkillers after a heart attack have a higher long-term risk of dying or having a second heart attack, according to a new study published in… Read More ›
More pregnant women taking high blood pressure drugs, yet safety unclear
Contact: Karen Astle karen.astle@heart.org 214-706-1392 American Heart Association Nearly 5 percent of pregnant women are prescribed drugs to treat high blood pressure, including some drugs that aren’t considered safe for mothers or their babies, according to new research in the… Read More ›
Most prescription drugs manufactured overseas — are they safe? ” information about inspections is not public”
Contact: Kim Barnhardt kim.barnhardt@cmaj.ca 613-520-7116 x2224 Canadian Medical Association Journal Most pharmaceutical drugs in Canada are manufactured overseas in countries such as India, China and others, yet how can we be confident the drug supply is safe, writes a drug… Read More ›
False positives: fraud and misconduct are threatening scientific research
High-profile cases and modern technology are putting scientific deceit under the microscope Alok Jha, science correspondent guardian.co.uk, Thursday 13 September 2012 13.12 EDT The Dutch psychologist Diederik Stapel was found to have published fabricated data in 30 peer-reviewed papers. Photograph: Boxem/boxem/Hollandse… Read More ›
Study of giant viruses shakes up tree of life: “spreaders of information,” Required for Life
Public release date: 13-Sep-2012 [ Contact: Diana Yates diya@illinois.edu 217-333-5802 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign IMAGE:Giant viruses should be included reconstructions of the tree of life, researchers report in a new study. The mimivirus, shown here (small black hexagons) infecting… Read More ›
Scientists use sound waves to levitate liquids, improve pharmaceuticals
Contact: Jared Sagoff jsagoff@anl.gov 630-252-5549 DOE/Argonne National Laboratory It’s not a magic trick and it’s not sleight of hand – scientists really are using levitation to improve the drug development process, eventually yielding more effective pharmaceuticals with fewer side effects…. Read More ›
Taking Prozac? Don’t drive: Pills raise risk of you having an accident by 70%
By Sophie Borland PUBLISHED:19:15 EST, 12 September 2012| UPDATED:19:15 EST, 12 September 2012 Taking common antidepressants heightens the risk of accidents greatly Taking happy pills before driving makes you more prone to accidents, researchers claim. They have found… Read More ›
Protection from Pertussis Vaccine, after the fifth dose wanes more than 40 percent each year
Protection Against Whooping Cough Waned During the Five Years After Fifth Dose of DTaP ScienceDaily (Sep. 12, 2012) — Protection against whooping cough (also called pertussis) waned during the five years after the fifth dose of the combined diphtheria, tetanus,… Read More ›
Solid tumor cells not killed by radiation and chemotherapy become stronger
2008 re-posted for filing Contact: Mary Jane Gore mary.gore@duke.edu 919-660-1309 Duke University Medical Center DURHAM, N.C. – Because of the way solid tumors adapt the body’s machinery to bring themselves more oxygen, chemotherapy and radiation may actually make these tumors… Read More ›
Whole milk is effective and cost-effective as oral contrast agent
2008 Re-post for filing Contact: Necoya Tyson necoya@arrs.org 703-858-4304 American College of Radiology An item commonly found in many homes – whole milk – is just as effective, costs less and is easier on the patient than a diluted (0.1%)… Read More ›
Popular pain-relieving medicines linked to hearing loss in wome
Contact: Marjorie Montemayor-Quellenberg mmontemayor-quellenberg@partners.org 617-534-2208 Brigham and Women’s Hospital IMAGE:This is Sharon G. Curhan, M.D. Click here for more information. BOSTON, MA—Headache? Back pain? At the first sign of pain, you might reach for a pain-relieving medicine to sooth your… Read More ›
Study: Routine ovarian cancer screenings are ineffective
By Agence France-Presse Tuesday, September 11, 2012 14:01 EDT Topics: cancer specialists ♦ ovarian cancer ♦ US Preventive Services Task Force member Routine screening for ovarian cancer is ineffective and at times can do more harm than good, a panel… Read More ›
Reconstructed 1918 influenza virus has yielded key insights, scientists say
Contact: Nalini Padmanabhan padmanabhannm@niaid.nih.gov 301-402-1663 NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases WHAT: The genetic sequencing and reconstruction of the 1918 influenza virus that killed 50 million people worldwide have advanced scientists’ understanding of influenza biology and yielded important… Read More ›
How having an operation can send you delirious: Terrifying post-surgery hallucinations strike up to half of the over-65s: “can also leave people in a permanent state of confusion and suffering from dementia”
By Roger Dobson PUBLISHED:18:46 EST, 10 September 2012| UPDATED:18:46 EST, 10 September 2012 When Gordon Sturmey came around after surgery, he was convinced people were trying to kill him. He believed a nurse was trying to poison him, and he… Read More ›
‘The Americans are our worst enemies’: Doctor who helped lead U.S. to bin Laden says Pakistan spy agency lists America as greatest foes and ‘maintains relations just to extract billions in aid’
Dr Shakil Afridi says Pakistan’s ISI intelligence agency calls the U.s. it’s worst enemy He was sentenced to 33 years in prison in June Dr Afridi helped the U.S. by setting up a fake vaccination programme that allowed him to … Read More ›
FASEB opposes the Government Spending Accountability Act
Contact: Lawrence Green lgreen@faseb.org 301-634-7335 Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology Bethesda, MD – The Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) wrote to all members of the House of Representatives expressing its opposition to the Government Spending… Read More ›
External-beam radiation therapy for localized prostate cancer linked to other cancer
Contact: Lacey Holt lholt@auanet.org American Urological Association Bladder, lung and colorectal cancers ORLANDO, FL, May 18, 2008—Patients undergoing external-beam radiation therapy (EBRT) for localized prostate cancer may be at an increased risk for secondary malignancy, according to a study from… Read More ›
Frankenstein’s dream brought to life as scientists say electricity could be used to regrow limbs
Aberdeen University researchers observed flatworms using electricity to regrow a head Electric field tells growth cells where to migrate By Sam Shead PUBLISHED:12:51 EST, 9 September 2012| UPDATED:13:35 EST, 9 September 2012 Experiments with echoes of Frankenstein suggest electricity could… Read More ›
Engineering Evil 