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G20 summit opens in Seoul; development plan announcement expected

The world's biggest rich and emerging powers escalated a war of words over trade and currencies Thursday, as leaders opened a G20 summit [in Seoul, South Korea] struggling to iron out distortions that threaten global growth, Agence France-Presse reports in an article examining some of the major disputes.

11 Nov 2010

PPH uses Xenex PX-UV disinfection system to destroy microorganisms causing HAIs

Palomar Pomerado Health (PPH) today announced it is the first health system in California to use the Xenex PX-UV disinfection system in its patient and operating rooms. The Xenex system is the fastest, safest and most cost-effective method for the advanced cleaning of hospital rooms in the world today, scientifically proven to destroy all major classes of microorganisms that cause hospital acquired infections (HAIs), such as MRSA and Clostridium difficile (C. diff).

11 Nov 2010

New insect control method can bring decline in malaria-bearing mosquitoes

Research carried out in Mali, West Africa, has demonstrated that a new, safe and uncomplicated insect control method, developed at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, can bring about a serious decline in malaria-bearing mosquitoes in afflicted regions in the world.

11 Nov 2010

Colorado officials discover positive test for E. coli 0157:H7 in Mauri Gorgonzola cheese

Mauri Gorgonzola cheese with sell-by dates of 01/31/11 and 01/14/11 is being recalled because of a positive test for E. coli 0157:H7. DPI Specialty Foods of Tualatin, Ore., cut, packaged and distributed the cheese to Costco Wholesale Corporation (Costco) stores in Colorado.

11 Nov 2010

U.S. Army explores new ways to detect harmful bacteria in water

Western New England College Research Presented at 2nd Pan-American/Iberian Meeting on Acoustics. To keep soldiers in the battlefield healthy, the U.S. Army is exploring new ways to detect harmful bacteria in water.

11 Nov 2010

Pevion announces positive results of PEV7 Phase I study for recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis

Pevion Biotech AG today announced positive preliminary results from a Phase I study of PEV7, the first vaccine against recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis (RVVC).

11 Nov 2010

TFAH's new report on flu finds higher hospitalization rates among African Americans

H1N1 flu hospitalization rates for African-Americans, Hispanics, and American Indian/Alaska Natives were nearly two to one higher than rates for Whites during the 2009-2010 flu season, according to a new report, Fighting Flu Fatigue, from the Trust for America's Health (TFAH). At the same time, both H1N1 and seasonal flu vaccination rates were lower for African Americans and Hispanics than for Whites.

11 Nov 2010

Study investigates long-term outcome of REYATAZ/ritonavir regimens in ARV-experienced patients

Results from a European Observational Study, which included 1,294 antiretroviral (ARV)-experienced patients presented today at the Tenth International Congress on Drug Therapy in HIV Infection (HIV10), demonstrated a low rate of discontinuation and sustained virologic suppression with REYATAZ- (atazanavir)/ritonavir-based regimens over a follow-up period of up to five years.

11 Nov 2010

Portugal research groups awarded Gates Foundation grants

Two research groups in Portugal are to receive Grand Challenges Exploration Grants from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. One of these research teams is led by Miguel Prud-ncio, at the Instituto de Medicina Molecular (IMM), and the other by Miguel Soares, at the Instituto Gulbenkian de Ci-ncia (IGC) together with Henrique Silveira, at the Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical (IHMT).

11 Nov 2010

Discovery of anti-parasitic drug mechanism could lead to new treatments for filarial diseases

In a major breakthrough that comes after decades of research and nearly half a billion treatments in humans, scientists have finally unlocked how a key anti-parasitic drug kills the worms brought on by the filarial diseases river blindness and elephantitis.

11 Nov 2010

MqsA and MqsR protein complex can disrupt drug-resistant biofilm formation

When a foreign object such as a catheter enters the body, bacteria may not only invade it but also organize into a slick coating - a biofilm - that is highly resistant to antibiotics. Like sophisticated organized crime rings, biofilms cannot be defeated by a basic approach of conventional means. Instead doctors and drug developers need sophisticated new intelligence that reveals the key players in the network and how they operate. New research led by biologists at Brown University provides exactly that dossier on some key proteins in the iconic bacterium E. coli.

11 Nov 2010

UC Riverside to design ultra-cheap sensors to fight malaria with $100,000 Gates Foundation grant

The University of California, Riverside announced today that it has received a $100,000 Grand Challenges Explorations grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The grant will support an innovative global health research project conducted by Eamonn Keogh, a professor of computer science and engineering in the Bourns College of Engineering, titled "Counting and classifying insects with ultra-cheap sensors."

11 Nov 2010

Experts call for global agriculture reform to ensure food security as two rice conferences open

Experts attending the International Rice Congress in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Tuesday called for imminent action to change inefficient farming methods and expand the global rice supply in order to prevent rising poverty and hunger, Agence France-Presse reports.

11 Nov 2010

PolyMedix receives FDA regulatory clearance for PMX-30063 IND application

PolyMedix, Inc. an emerging biotechnology company focused on developing new therapeutic drugs to treat infectious diseases and acute cardiovascular disorders, has received regulatory clearance from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its Investigational New Drug (IND) application for PMX-30063, a synthetic defensin-mimetic antibiotic.

11 Nov 2010

Guardian examines former Pres. Bush's reflection on PEPFAR in new memoir

The Guardian examines the reflections of former President George W. Bush on the $15bn President's Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (PEPFAR) which distributed antiretroviral drugs to keep people with HIV alive, as the president describes in his recently released memoir, Decision Points.

11 Nov 2010

PolyMedix announces publication of defensin-mimetic compounds in Molecular Oral Microbiology

PolyMedix, Inc. an emerging biotechnology company focused on developing new therapeutic drugs to treat infectious diseases and acute cardiovascular disorders, announced that data from two separate pre-clinical research studies were published in the December issue of Molecular Oral Microbiology.

10 Nov 2010

Researchers find text messages to HIV patients improve adherence, health outcomes in Kenya trial

Using mobile-phone text messages to remind HIV patients to take their dose of life-saving medications can give a major boost to drug adherence, according to an innovative trial in Kenya unveiled on Tuesday, Agence France-Presse reports.

10 Nov 2010

Vertex to enroll additional treatment arm in telaprevir/VX-222 Phase 2 clinical trial for HCV

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated today announced plans to enroll an additional treatment arm as part of its ongoing Phase 2 clinical trial evaluating 12-week regimens of Vertex's lead investigational hepatitis C virus (HCV) protease inhibitor, telaprevir, in combination with its lead investigational HCV polymerase inhibitor, VX-222.

10 Nov 2010

Egrifta receives FDA approval for treatment of HIV-lipodystrophy

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Egrifta (tesamorelin) to treat HIV patients with lipodystrophy, a condition in which excess fat develops in different areas of the body, most notably around the liver, stomach, and other abdominal organs. The condition is associated with many antiretroviral drugs used to treat HIV.

10 Nov 2010

Opinions: G20 development approach; defense of DDT for malaria control; U.S. foreign aid; human trafficking

Leaders have been debating how to 'rebalance' the global economy and reform financial institutions - all challenging subjects. But I also am reminding my colleagues that all these goals, however crucial, are insufficient, Lee Myung-bak, the president of the Republic of Korea, writes in a Washington Post opinion piece.

10 Nov 2010

Disease/Infection News

G20 summit opens in Seoul; development plan announcement expected

PPH uses Xenex PX-UV disinfection system to destroy microorganisms causing HAIs

New insect control method can bring decline in malaria-bearing mosquitoes

Colorado officials discover positive test for E. coli 0157:H7 in Mauri Gorgonzola cheese

U.S. Army explores new ways to detect harmful bacteria in water

Pevion announces positive results of PEV7 Phase I study for recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis

TFAH's new report on flu finds higher hospitalization rates among African Americans

Study investigates long-term outcome of REYATAZ/ritonavir regimens in ARV-experienced patients

Portugal research groups awarded Gates Foundation grants

Discovery of anti-parasitic drug mechanism could lead to new treatments for filarial diseases

MqsA and MqsR protein complex can disrupt drug-resistant biofilm formation

UC Riverside to design ultra-cheap sensors to fight malaria with $100,000 Gates Foundation grant

Experts call for global agriculture reform to ensure food security as two rice conferences open

PolyMedix receives FDA regulatory clearance for PMX-30063 IND application

Guardian examines former Pres. Bush's reflection on PEPFAR in new memoir

PolyMedix announces publication of defensin-mimetic compounds in Molecular Oral Microbiology

Researchers find text messages to HIV patients improve adherence, health outcomes in Kenya trial

Vertex to enroll additional treatment arm in telaprevir/VX-222 Phase 2 clinical trial for HCV

Egrifta receives FDA approval for treatment of HIV-lipodystrophy

Opinions: G20 development approach; defense of DDT for malaria control; U.S. foreign aid; human trafficking

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