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Pregnancy rates decrease and miscarriages increase when a father is over 35

Pregnancy rates decrease and miscarriages increase when a father is over 35 years of age, a scientist will tell the 24th annual conference of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (Monday 7 July). Dr. Stephanie Belloc, of the Eylau Centre for Assisted Reproduction, Paris, France, will say that this is the first time that such a strong paternal effect on reproductive outcomes has been shown.

6 Jul 2008

RNAs emerge as major players in gene regulation

Tiny strands of genetic material called RNA - a chemical cousin of DNA - are emerging as major players in gene regulation, the process inside cells that drives all biology and that scientists seek to control in order to fight disease.

6 Jul 2008

More aggressive treatment of childhood eczema could help prevent asthma

More aggressive treatment of childhood eczema may be an important step in preventing asthma, says a new Australian study.

6 Jul 2008

UNISON raises concerns over individual budgets

UNISON has raised concerns over government proposals to test individual budgets in primary and community care.

6 Jul 2008

Treatment delays result in poor outcomes for men with breast cancer

Men who develop breast cancer are often not treated until the disease has spread to the point that treatment becomes difficult, new results show.

6 Jul 2008

Counting tumor cells in blood predicts treatment benefit in prostate cancer

Counting the number of tumor cells circulating in the bloodstream of patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer can accurately predict how well they are responding to treatment, new results show.

6 Jul 2008

Modified chemotherapy regimen promising for lymphoma patients in the developing world

Preliminary results suggest that patients with aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in the developing world might benefit from a modified chemotherapy regimen, researchers say.

6 Jul 2008

6 in every 100 patients die in hospital due to adverse drug reaction

Six of every 100 patients who die in hospital do so as a consequence of an adverse drug reaction or, in other words, a fatal reaction to medicines. Those are the conclusions of a research carried out at the Department of Medicine of the University of Granada, in collaboration with the Clinical Hospital San Cecilio of Granada, by Alfredo Jose Pardo Cabello and directed by Professors Emilio Puche Canas (Department of Pharmacology) and Francisco Javier Gomez Jimenez (Department of Medicine).

6 Jul 2008

Families where children are born without a genetic or gestational link to their parents are functioning well

The emotional well-being of families where children lack a genetic or gestational link to one or both of their parents - where the children have been conceived through surrogacy, egg donation or donor insemination - has long been a subject of debate.

6 Jul 2008

Surrogacy still stigmatised, though attitudes changing among younger women

Although younger people are becoming more positive towards surrogate mothers, current day attitudes to surrogacy are still broadly negative, a scientist will tell the 24th annual conference of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology.

6 Jul 2008

Screening athletes for heart disorders would save lives

Athletes who take part in competitive sport should be screened for potentially fatal heart problems before they compete, according to a study published on BMJ.com.

4 Jul 2008

Researchers reveal types of genes necessary for brain development

Researchers from Harvard Medical School and Brandeis University have successfully completed a full-genome RNAi screen in neurons, showing what types of genes are necessary for brain development. Details of the screen and its novel methodology are published July 4th in the open-access journal PLoS Genetics.

4 Jul 2008

Researchers solve structure of proteins known as sodium glucose co-transporters

Researchers at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA have solved the structure of a class of proteins known as sodium glucose co-transporters (SGLTs), which pump glucose into cells.

4 Jul 2008

A noisy brain is a healthy brain

Canadian scientists have shown that a noisy brain is a healthy brain. "Brain noise" is a term that has been used by neuroscientists to describe random brain activity that is not important to mental function.

4 Jul 2008

California pharmacies expect disaster after Loss in lawsuit loss to stop 10% Medi-Cal provider cuts

Today, a state court denied eight retail pharmacies' motion to stop the ten percent Medi-Cal provider cuts. The pharmacies sought a temporary restraining order (TRO) from Sacramento Superior Court against the California Department of Health Care Services and its director Sandra Shewry to block the cuts from being implemented.

4 Jul 2008

Breast cancer: How tumor cells break free and form metastases

When tumor cells acquire the capacity to move around and invade other tissues, there is a risk of metastases and cancer treatment becomes more difficult. At the Institut Curie, CNRS Director of Research Philippe Chavrier and his group have just discovered how breast cancer cells break the bonds that tether them to the tumor. The basement membrane around the mammary gland is a barrier to the spread of cancer cells. Three proteins in the tumor cells transport enzymes needed to perforate this barrier, and another protein puts these enzymes in the right place.

4 Jul 2008

Revised study maintains link between FDA approvals made soon before deadlines, safety risks

Harvard University professor Daniel Carpenter has made revisions to a study published in March that found prescription drugs hurried through the FDA approval process are more likely to later be linked to safety risks, but he maintains that the study's conclusions are still accurate, the Wall Street Journal reports.

4 Jul 2008

UnitedHealth Group announces lower profit outlook

UnitedHealth Group on Wednesday lowered its earnings guidance because of reduced commercial businesses and higher-than-expected Medicare-related costs and said it would restructure the company with a greater focus on regional coverage, the Chicago Tribune reports (Chicago Tribune, 7/3).

4 Jul 2008

GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis found guilty of overcharging Alabama Medicaid Program

An Alabama state court jury on Tuesday found pharmaceutical companies GlaxoSmithKline and Novartis guilty of defrauding the state Medicaid program by charging artificially high prices for medications and ordered the two companies to pay more than $114 million in restitution, the AP/Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

4 Jul 2008

Pennsylvania health care cost containment council employees let go after program authorization lapses

Nearly the entire staff of the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council has been let go due to a political disagreement between Gov. Ed Rendell (D) and state Senate Republicans over whether a bill to reauthorize the council should also include an extension of a malpractice insurance subsidy for physicians, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports (Goldstein, Philadelphia Inquirer, 7/2).

4 Jul 2008