Stable flies are the latest suspect that may be involved in the West Nile virus deaths of hundreds of pelican chicks at the Medicine Lake National Wildlife Refuge in northeast Montana. West Nile virus killed 800 to 1,000 pelican chicks in 2003, averaged 400 in each of the next three summers and more than 600 this year.
Rice University today unveiled plans for a $100 million initiative to create an institute to develop technologies to combat pressing health problems in the developing world, such as HIV/AIDS and child mortality. The initiative was announced today during the annual meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative in New York.
The Oxford Health Alliance (OxHA), a global coalition with the aim of preventing the epidemic of chronic disease, is launching a groundbreaking public health research programme to enhance scientific knowledge about the effectiveness of community interventions in reducing the prevalence of chronic diseases.
GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK)announced that it will join with other pharmaceutical companies, academic institutions and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to research genetic markers that may help predict who is at risk for serious drug-related adverse events.
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) announced that it has submitted a licence application for its cervical cancer candidate vaccine Cervarix to the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW). This is the first vaccine for the prevention of cervical cancer to be filed for approval in Japan.
Following the President’s signature of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Amendments Act, HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt praised the bill as an important step forward in ensuring the safety of drugs and medical devices.
To accelerate the advancement of stem cell biology from bench to bedside for treatment of cardiovascular disease, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will host the scientific symposium Cardiovascular Regenerative Medicine at the NIH Natcher Conference Center in Bethesda, Maryland.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has awarded $35 million in funding to state and local health departments to increase HIV testing opportunities among populations disproportionately affected by HIV, primarily African Americans. Twenty-three states and major metropolitan areas will receive awards ranging from $690,000 to $5.4 million.
A new study examined the possible associations between occupation and the risk of dying from systemic autoimmune diseases and found that occupational exposures in farming and industry may be linked to higher death rates from these diseases.
Nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF) is a newly identified debilitating and painful condition that affects patients with kidney failure and is characterized by a thickening and hardening of the skin. It usually affects the arms and legs but it can also affect internal organs and can progress so rapidly that patients can be immobilized and wheelchair-bound within a few weeks.