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Health biotechnology is no longer the sole preserve of high-level research institutions of North America and Europe, according to a ground-breaking three-year study by 15 researchers of health biotechnology innovation systems in seven countries: Brazil, China, Cuba, Egypt, India, South Africa and South Korea. ''Nowhere is the need for science and technology as a tool for development more relevant than in addressing the health needs of the world's poor,'' says co author Peter Singer, MD, Director of the University of Toronto Joint Centre for Bioethics, a world -- leading think tank on medical ethics.
HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson announced today that 17.2 million influenza vaccine doses have been shipped in the last six weeks to health providers serving high-priority groups as part of the program to reallocate the vaccine to those areas and people who need it most. The Secretary also said that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has nearly completed its examination of vaccines from foreign manufacturers.
As part of the first nationwide effort to assess and reduce the incidence of sexual assaults among prisoners in state and federal correctional facilities, RTI International has been awarded $2.6 million through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Statistics to develop a touch-screen computer survey to collect private information from inmates across the United States.
A new study finds most women now follow the recommendation to receive their first screening mammogram at age 40, but there is widespread failure to return promptly for subsequent exams and several sub-populations of women still are not being screened by the recommended age. The authors say their findings suggest there is little to be gained from population-wide efforts to encourage entry into the screening process, and that public health efforts should focus on the sub-populations at highest risk of inadequate screening.
The chicken pox vaccine has saved America hundreds of millions of dollars since its introduction in 1995 by preventing the kinds of severe cases that used to send children, teens and adults to the hospital, a new study finds. In fact, it's even more effective -- and cost-effective -- than originally predicted at preventing hospitalizations and hospital costs. And the widespread immunity to the disease that has resulted from vaccination of most children even appears to be protecting people who haven't had the shot, the researchers say. Fewer infections among kids means less exposure for teens and adults who haven't had the disease or the vaccine -- and who are most likely to need hospital treatment for symptoms and complications if they get the disease.
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is unaware of any information indicating a specific terrorist threat to any VA facility in our national health care system, according to Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony J. Principi. ''We are operating as usual,'' Principi said. ''No VA services have been affected by the recent information bulletin issued by the Department of Homeland Security.'' The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) regularly distributes information outlining a variety of protective measures to increase awareness and provide guidance to law enforcement, state and local officials, as well as the private sector, about potential terrorist threats.
The U.S. Presidential candidates George Bush and John Kerry promise very different economic policies. But research sociologist and consumer debt expert Robert Manning argues that the expansion of the global consumer economy will necessarily lead to the diminished economic power of the United States, including slower economic growth due to higher interest rates and excessive public and private debt burdens. Manning, a professor at Rochester Institute of Technology, finds that if the U.S. model of credit is adapted globally, it can be expected that household savings rates will plummet while credit card market penetration will continue to soar and average consumer debt will continue to rise.
Taking on the role of caregiver earlier in life can worsen women's economic well-being later in life, according to a study by sociologists at Rice University in Houston. Using data from the 1992 and 2000 Health and Retirement Study, the researchers analyzed the long-term financial effects of caring for elderly parents. ''If women assumed caregiver roles, they were 2.5 times more likely than non-caregivers to live in poverty and five times more likely to receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI),'' wrote Katharine Donato and Chizuko Wakabayashi in a paper that will be presented Aug. 14 at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association in San Francisco.
A new national survey conducted by the Society for Adolescent Medicine reveals parents may be misguided about the sexual behavior of their adolescent kids. While nearly 60 percent of parents reported they were concerned about the consequences of adolescent sexual behavior, the majority -- 84 percent -- did not believe their own child was sexually active. Yet, a recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study showed that almost one-half of ninth through 12th-graders have had sex.
A huge, largely underground industry has been built on the moss that drapes some forest trees, raising ecological concerns, questions about export of potentially invasive species, and other issues that have scientists, land managers and businesses unsure about how to monitor, regulate or control this market amid so many uncertainties.
Throwing lavish dinner parties may be a fading trend. According to a U of T study, people are socializing less with their family and friends at home but, instead, are spending more time at home alone.
''As a result of social and demographic changes, the private dwelling is less of a context for social company,'' says Glenn Stalker, a PhD student in sociology and author of the study, Change in the use of the dwelling space as an environmental context for social engagement during leisure time, 1986 to 1998. ''That is largely due to changes in the structure of the family, higher rates of separation and divorce, smaller households with fewer children, delayed marriages and more individuals living alone.''
The world witnessed the dawn of a new space age today, as investor and philanthropist Paul G. Allen and Scaled Composites launched the first private manned vehicle beyond the Earth's atmosphere. The successful launch demonstrated that the final frontier is now open to private enterprise.
Under the command of test pilot Mike Melvill, SpaceShipOne reached a record breaking altitude of 328,491 feet (approximately 62 miles or 100 km), making Melvill the first civilian to fly a spaceship out of the atmosphere and the first private pilot to earn astronaut wings.
The new Medicare prescription drug law will provide much-needed help to many, especially beneficiaries with low incomes, but it's unclear whether most patients will benefit in the long run, a new report says. The drug benefits provided under the measure will not grow with beneficiaries' needs, and other program changes that could prove unworkable or place some beneficiaries at risk will create added costs, the report says. In the meantime, reliance on standalone private drug plans could saddle beneficiaries remaining in traditional Medicare with higher costs.
In 2004 Medicare private plans in the country will be paid 8.4% more per enrollee on average than fee-for-service costs, according to a new report from The Commonwealth Fund. These extra payments to Medicare Advantage plans--formerly called Medicare Plus Choice--average $552 per plan enrollee, or a total of $2.75 billion overall.
The effects of prenatal exposure to second-hand smoke on mental development are exacerbated in children who experience socioeconomic hardships, such as substandard housing and inadequate food and clothing, during the first two years of life, according to a new study funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, one of the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and other private foundations. While the study results indicate that prenatal exposure to second-hand smoke can be harmful to the unborn child regardless of socioeconomic conditions, the data also suggest that lower-income children may be less able to compensate for these effects over the next few years of life.
