Hospital Cat Seems To Know When Patients Are Going To Die
Oscar, a two year old cat that lives at a nursing home in Providence, Rhode Island in the New England region of the United States, appears to know when residents at the home are approaching their final hours because he curls up next to them.

Washington Post Examines Effect Of Botswana Infant Formula Program Implemented To Reduce Risk Of Mother-to-Child HIV Transmission
Providing infant formula to HIV-positive mothers might "cost at least as many lives as it has saved" because the nutrition and antibodies supplied by breast milk are "so crucial to young children that they outweigh the small risk of transmitting HIV," the Washington Post reports.

Underutilized Option Of Fertility Preservation In Young Male Cancer Patients
A recent study at Hamilton Health Sciences proves that sperm freezing and banking is an effective way to preserve fertility in adolescents and young adult (AYA) males with cancer.

Democrats Seek Meeting With President Bush On Spending Bills
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) have asked for a meeting with President Bush to reach an agreement on fiscal year 2008 appropriations bills, the New York Times reports.

Significant Improvement In Survival Over Time For Metastatic Breast Cancer
Newer drug therapies available since the 1990s, in particular aromatase inhibitors, improve the survival of women with metastatic breast cancer in the general population, according to a new study.

Increasing Labor Shortage In Japan Prompting Companies To Provide More Benefits To Female Workers, Wall Street Journal Reports
Although it has been customary at many Japanese companies for women to leave when they have children or become married, an increasing shortage of labor in the country is prompting companies to retain female workers with "new vigor," the Wall Street Journal reports.

Survival Of Women With Metastatic Breast Cancer Not Improved By Group Therapy
A follow up to a previous study on group therapy in breast cancer patients finds group therapy does not prolong the lives of women with metastatic breast cancer.

Siemens Medical Solutions Diagnostics Announces Enhanced Liver Fibrosis Test For Europe
Siemens Medical Solutions Diagnostics announced the availability of its Enhanced Liver Fibrosis (ELF) test, the first CE-marked, standardized non-invasive blood test for assessing the status of liver fibrosis. The Siemens ELF test was first validated in an international multicenter cohort study and is now available through iQur, Ltd., Southampton, UK, as a testing service for patient management.

Siemens Medical Solutions Diagnostics Enters The Immunosuppressant Testing Market With The ADVIA Centaur® Cyclosporine (CsA)
Siemens Medical Solutions Diagnostics announced the introduction of the ADVIA Centaur® Cyclosporine (CsA) assay, an easy to use automated test offering laboratories a highly specific immunoassay for the Cyclosporine A parent compound. "The ADVIA Centaur Cyclosporine assay shows excellent correlation with the gold standard tandem mass spectrometric method," said Steven J. Soldin, Ph.D.

Novation Awards Agreement To Siemens Medical Solutions Diagnostics To Provide Portfolio Of Chemistry, Immunochemistry And Automation Solutions
Siemens Medical Solutions Diagnostics announced that it has been awarded an agreement with Novation, the healthcare contracting services company of VHA Inc. and the University HealthSystem Consortium (UHC), two national health care alliances to provide chemistry, immunochemistry and automation solutions to VHA, UHC and Healthcare Purchasing Partners International (HPPI) members.

Resolution Revolution: Siemens Unveils World's First High Definition PET-CT, Providing Unprecedented Clarity Through Entire Field Of View
Just as the clarity of high definition television has transformed the entertainment world, Siemens Medical Solutions is redefining the quality of molecular imaging with the introduction of high definition positron emission tomography.

Confirmed: A Link Between Breast Cancer And Hormone Therapy
Breast cancer is second only to lung cancer as the leading cause of cancer death among women. This year alone, nearly 180,000 women in the U.S. will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer, and some 40,000 will die from it, according to the American Cancer Society.

Some Solvents Can Alter Chemical Bonds Between Molecules
New University at Buffalo research demonstrates that some solvents can significantly enhance certain acid-base interactions and strengthen the bonding interaction between two molecules when one is electron-deficient and one is electron-rich.

FDA Nanotechnology Report Outlines Scientific, Regulatory Challenges
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)'s Nanotechnology Task Force released a report that recommends the agency consider developing guidance and taking other steps to address the benefits and risks of drugs and medical devices using nanotechnology. "Nanotechnology holds enormous potential for use in a vast array of products," said Commissioner of Food and Drugs Andrew von Eschenbach, M.D.

FDA Statement On Gene Therapy Clinical Trial
On July 24, 2007 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was informed by Targeted Genetics Corporation of Seattle about the death of a patient who received an investigational gene therapy product in a clinical trial for the treatment of active inflammatory arthritis. FDA's condolences go to the patient's family.

Asthma UK Comment On Prescription Charging Consultation
Mikis Euripides, Asthma UK's Assistant Director of Policy & Public Affairs said: 'We are delighted that the Government has decided to listen to the views of people with asthma to find out more about the huge impact prescription charges can have on their lives. People with asthma have consistently told us this is one of the most important issues they want the Government to address with almost 1.

CBO: CHAMP Act Slashes Seniors' Nursing Home Care 2.7 Billion Dollars Over Five Years, USA
Despite the effort by the House Ways and Means Committee to spin the hastily-crafted Children's Health and Medicare Protection Act of 2007 (CHAMP Act) as beneficial to "America's Greatest Generation," new Congressional Budget Office (CBO) data, in fact, has determined that the nation's oldest, highest acuity nursing home residents will suffer Medicare Part A budget cuts of $2.

Plant Growth Reduced By Rising Surface Ozone With Implications For Food Production And Global Warming
Scientists from three leading UK research institutes have released new findings that could have major implications for food production and global warming in the 21st century. Their research is published online in Nature.

Ability To Learn A Second Language In Adulthood Linked To Brain Anatomy
Think you haven't got the aptitude to learn a foreign language? New research led by Northwestern University neuroscientists suggests that the problem, quite literally, could be in your head.

New TB Vaccine Goes Into Second Stage Trials
Clinical trials are underway with the first new vaccine against TB in over 80 years. If successful, the tests will have major implications for TB control and could lead to the development of a new vaccine ready to use within eight years.

Can The Environmental Protection Agency Safely Oversee Nanotechnologies?
Does the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have an adequate strategy to ensure that nanotechnology is being safely commercialized? Can it get needed information through a proposed program where companies voluntarily submit details about the nature of the nanomaterials they are using to manufactur

Award Winning IT System For Patient Data Bank At University Hospitals
University Hospitals (UH) has received two national information technology awards for its FirstGateways™ Physician Portal, an electronic data bank for UH clinicians system-wide, which acts as a one-stop haven for patient data.UH was one of only three health systems nationally to receive the 2007 Most Wired Innovator Award for innovation in information technology.

Center For Women's Health Research Releases Report Card On Women's Health Care In North Carolina
Although fewer women in North Carolina are smoking and dying from heart disease and stroke, more than 16% of women do not have health insurance, including 63% of Hispanic women, according to a report released Wednesday by the Center for Women's Health Research at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, the Raleigh News & Observer reports.

Male Smokers At Increased Risk Of Erectile Dysfunction
Men who smoke cigarettes run an increased risk of experiencing erectile dysfunction, and the more cigarettes smoked, the greater the risk, according to a study by Tulane University researchers published in the American Journal of Epidemiology.

Unlicensed Drug Importers Selling Antiretrovirals In Zimbabwe, Medicines Control Authority Says
Unlicensed drug importers illegally are selling antiretroviral drugs in Zimbabwe at unregulated locations like flea markets and hair salons, the country's Medicines Control Authority said recently, Zimbabwe's Financial Gazette reports. Some health experts warn that the nonprescription antiretrovirals could result in the development of widespread drug resistance.