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45,000 excess deaths annually linked to lack of health insurance: Harvard study

A study published online today [Thursday] estimates nearly 45,000 annual deaths are associated with lack of health insurance. That figure is about two and a half times higher than an estimate from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) in 2002.

Insulin, metformin do not reduce inflammatory biomarkers for diabetes patients

CHICAGO -- In patients with recent onset type-2 diabetes, treatment with insulin or the diabetes drug metformin did not reduce inflammatory biomarkers, such as high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, although the treatment did improve glucose control, according to a study in the September 16 issue of JAMA.

Less than 10 percent of Americans have low risk for heart disease

After two decades of improvement, the percentage of Americans without major heart disease risk factors is dropping, according to a report in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

Diabetes drug kills cancer stem cells in combination treatment in mice

PHILADELPHIA -- In a one-two punch, a familiar diabetes drug reduced tumors faster and prolonged remission in mice longer than chemotherapy alone by targeting cancer stem cells, Harvard Medical School researchers reported in the September 14 online first edition of Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Diabetes drug kills cancer stem cells in combination treatment in mice

BOSTON, Mass. (September 14, 2009) -- In a one-two punch, a familiar diabetes drug reduced tumors faster and prolonged remission in mice longer than chemotherapy alone, apparently by targeting cancer stem cells, report Harvard Medical School researchers in the Sept. 14 advance online Cancer Research.

Environmental scientists estimate that China could meet its entire future energy needs by wind alone

Cambridge, Mass. -- September 10, 2009 -- A team of environmental scientists from Harvard and Tsinghua University demonstrated the enormous potential for wind-generated electricity in China.

Virus responsible for deadly brain disease found in MS patients treated with natalizumab

BOSTON -- The virus responsible for PML (progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy), a rare brain disease that typically affects AIDS patients and other individuals with compromised immune systems, has been found to be reactivated in multiple-sclerosis patients being treated with natalizumab (Tysabri).

Link found between common sexual infection and risk of aggressive prostate cancer

A new study from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and Brigham and Women's Hospital researchers has found a strong association between the common sexually transmitted infection, Trichomonas vaginalis, and risk of advanced and lethal prostate cancer in men.

Potato blight reveals some secrets as genome is decoded

MADISON -- Late blight caused the 19th century famine that sparked a wave of emigration from Ireland to the United States, but the disease has also infected tomatoes and potatoes this year. Potatoes, the world's fourth-largest food crop, were raised on 65,500 acres in Wisconsin in 2007. If a potato field is not treated with pesticide, late blight can destroy the crop in a few days.

Genome of Irish potato famine pathogen decoded

A large international research team has decoded the genome of the notorious organism that triggered the Irish potato famine in the mid-19th century and now threatens this season's tomato and potato crops across much of the US.

MassGeneral Hospital for Children study explains some mysteries of neonatal seizures

A study led by MassGeneral Hospital for Children (MGHfC) investigators is providing new insight into the mechanism of neonatal seizures, which have features very different from seizures in older children and adults. In their report in the Sept.

Lead in bone associated with increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease in men

Boston, MA -- Growing evidence shows that exposure to lead in the environment is associated with cardiovascular disease, including increased risk of hypertension. However, those studies have looked at lead concentrations in blood, not bone lead, a better indicator of cumulative lead exposure over time.

Magnetic fields play larger role in star formation than previously thought

The simple picture of star formation calls for giant clouds of gas and dust to collapse inward due to gravity, growing denser and hotter until igniting nuclear fusion. In reality, forces other than gravity also influence the birth of stars. New research shows that cosmic magnetic fields play a more important role in star formation than previously thought.

Cardiac biomarker levels strongly predict outcome of bypass surgery

Levels of a biomarker used in the diagnosis of heart attacks are almost universally elevated in patients who have undergone coronary-artery bypass grafting (CABG) and, when markedly elevated, are powerfully prognostic, a team of researchers from the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Heart Center has found.

Mayo Clinic researchers find that protein believed to protect against cancer has a Mr. Hyde side

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- In a biological rendition of fiction's Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, researchers from the Mayo Clinic campus in Florida and Harvard Medical School have found that a protein thought to protect against cancer development can actually spur the spread of tumors.



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