Categories
Cardiovascular
Diagnostics
Endocrinology
Health Insurance
Medical Devices
Mental Health
Nutrition
Oncology
Public Health
Sexual Health
Popular Articles

Lost Molecule Is Lethal For Liver Cancer Cells In Mice
Scientists at Johns Hopkins have discovered a potential strategy for cancer therapy by focusing on what"s missing in tumors.
generic viagra online
Blogs Comment On Obama's Notre Dame Speech, Gallup Poll On Abortion Views, Other Topics
The following summarizes selected women"s health-related blog entries.~ "Nine Key Developments in Obama"s Notre Dame Speech," Dan Gilgoff, U.S. News & World Report"s God and Country: When speaking at the University of Notre Dame"s commencement ceremony Sunday, President Obama "devoted a good-sized chunk of the address to confronting the basis for the controversy" surrounding his invitation to speak "head on," Gilgoff writes. He goes on to list nine key points in the speech, including Obama"s decisions to acknowledge the controversy surrounding his appearance at the commencement; highlight his policy proposals of increasing adoption availability and assistance to pregnant women who carry pregnancies to term, which "go way beyond pregnancy prevention;" and voice his support for "drafting a sensible conscience clause," which represents a step away from completely rescinding the Bush administration provider "conscience" rule. Gilgoff writes that Obama also "argued, despite his hopes of achieving common ground around the hottest-button issue, the two sides in the abortion debate really are at loggerheads," adding that his statement was "incongruous with a speech that argued common ground is always possible between ideological combatants." Gilgoff also discusses media coverage of the event and the fact that "Obama never stated his pro-abortion-rights position," which likely will "rile" abortion-rights advocates. In addition, Obama "peppered his speech with shows of respect for those on the other side of the issue," according to Gilgoff. Lastly, Obama addressed the moral issue surrounding abortion, which "represents a break from Democrats who, for a long time, declined to do so," but also spoke on other moral and religious issues beyond abortion -- an important move "because most religious Americans don"t see their faith mostly in terms of stopping abortion" (Gilgoff, U.S. News & World Report"s God and Country, 5/18).~ "Has the Public Become More Opposed to Abortion?" John Sides, The Monkey Cage: Recently released polls from Gallup and the Pew Research Center were based on "hopelessly mushy" questions, and the "findings obscure far more than they reveal," Sides writes. The Gallup data showed that the percentage of people who said they are "pro-life" has risen and is larger than the percentage who calls themselves "pro-choice." The Pew data showed a decline in the percentage of people who think abortion should be legal in "all" or "most" cases, with an increase in the percentage of people who think it should be illegal in all or most cases. However, "a wider array of data do not appear to show notable trends," and the "movement appears to be among Republicans," Sides writes, adding that the two research groups "purport to show shifts in opinion that are not evident in other data." The two groups "employ vague questions that do not easily map onto actual policy debates," he continues, concluding, "Once more precise data are employed, it becomes clear that opinion strongly depends on the circumstances under which the abortion would occur" (Sides, The Monkey Cage, 5/16).~ "Discussion: Obama at Notre Dame," Washington Post"s On Faith: The Washington Post"s On Faith blog posted several entries regarding President Obama"s speech at the University of Notre Dame"s commencement ceremony. Susan Brooks Thistlewaite, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, writes that she "appreciated" that Obama"s speech "acknowledged that women are the central decision makers" when it comes to abortion "and that women engage in moral reasoning to make the decision." However, this has "kept religious authorities from making the connection between insights from the history of ethics and the abortion question." Brian McLaren, an evangelical pastor, writes that the speech "was an example of the kind of respectful discourse we need when grappling with issues over which we disagree, while author Susan Jacoby says that the speech and reaction from the audience "will h
News of the day
Ensuring Seniors Are Safe And Secure During Emergencies
Planning for emergencies must take into account the growing numbers of frail elderly people who will by virtue of shifting demographics be involved in any natural or manmade disaster, according to US researchers writing in the International Journal of Emergency Management.
Mental Health

Exosome Diagnostics And DxS Diagnostic Innovations Collaborate To Develop Blood-Based Tests For Key Cancer Mutations

Exosome Diagnostics, Inc. ("ExosomeDX") and DxS Ltd. ("DxS") announced that they will collaborate on the development of blood-based companion diagnostics for key cancer gene mutations, such as KRAS, BRAF and EGFR. The collaboration will use DxS" industry leading Scorpions(R) real-time PCR Mutation Test Kits in conjunction with ExosomeDX"s xOS(TM) technology which harvests high-quality nucleic acids from blood exosomes. The collaboration will initially focus on developing blood-based measurement of KRAS, BRAF, EGFR and other key mutations for predicting patient response to targeted therapies. Blood-based mutation measurement is particularly valuable in circumstances where tissue bioavailability is limited such as in lung, pancreatic and ovarian cancers. Exosomes are small microvesicles precipitously shed by all solid tumors into blood. They contain virtually the entire cancer tumor transcriptome. In studies, ExosomeDX has identified most mRNA and miRNA in circulating tumor derived exosomes, all protected in the exosome lipid bi-layer from any blood-based RNase. Initial findings were published in the December 2008 issue of Nature Cell Biology. "There are over 180 companies investigating over 370 different molecular targeted cancer therapies, many of which will require high-quality, molecular companion diagnostics," said James McCullough, Chief Executive Officer Exosome Diagnostics. "Teaming with the world leader in this space is a critical step in providing a solution for pharmaceutical companies, researchers and clinicians to measure the key mutations DxS Scorpion probes target directly from blood." "Combining the ability to pull high-quality mutations from a simple blood draw with the unparalleled sensitivity and specificity of our Scorpion assays will provide our pharmaceutical and research customers with an ideal solution in personalized medicine," said Dr. Stephen Little, Chief Executive Officer of DxS. About DxS DxS is a personalised medicine company providing molecular diagnostics to aid doctors and drug companies in selecting therapies for patients. DxS offers products, technology and services to the healthcare industry to enable the delivery of safe and effective medicines. Working predominantly in the field of cancer, DxS has a range of companion diagnostic and research kits that detect mutations in oncogenes. About Exosome Diagnostics Exosome Diagnostics is a developer of proprietary non-invasive, molecular diagnostic tests. The company"s core technology is based on discoveries by Harvard and Massachusetts General Hospital researchers that circulating nanovesicles in blood and urine called exosomes contain unique genetic markers that can be reliably harvested for personalized medicine cancer diagnostics Exosome Diagnostics


Add your comment:
Name:
Site address: http://
Your message:
Enter today\\\\'s date, 2 digits
(spam protection):

© Copyright 2009