Health Minute - U.S. Health Care Versus the World: The Big Picture
As the enrollment deadline at the end of this month for the Affordable Care Act draws near, the facts, figures, and comments from all sides are flying throug...
By: Justmeans
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Health Minute - U.S. Health Care Versus the World: The Big Picture - Video
U-M Institute for Healthcare Policy Innovation
For decades, University of Michigan researchers have studied health care from every angle and tested new ways to make it better, safer, and more equitable. N...
By: UMHealthSystem
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President Obama: The health care deadline is here
A personal message from President Obama on why you should get covered before the March 31st deadline.
By: Organizing for Action
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Forget Health Care! Heal by Thought Alone- without Drugs or Surgery
You Are the Placebo Book- Available April 29th, 2014! By Dr. Joe Dispenza Pre-order your book NOW from Amazon or Barnes Nobel and receive a FREE audio down...
By: drjoedispenza
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Forget Health Care! Heal by Thought Alone- without Drugs or Surgery - Video
Sebelius says Texas opposition hasn #39;t helped sign-ups
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius says political opposition in Texas to the federal health care overhaul hasn #39;t helped the state #39;s underp...
By: kxan
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Sebelius says Texas opposition hasn't helped sign-ups - Video
Obama admonishes Putin, the Pope the President, SCOTUS, Health Care Enrollment Surge
Obama #39;s efforts to rally European allies against Russia, the first-ever meeting between President Obama and Pope Francis, SCOTUS heard arguments challenging ...
By: Washington Week with Gwen Ifill
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Obama admonishes Putin, the Pope & the President, SCOTUS, Health Care Enrollment Surge - Video
The Bill Press Show - March 31, 2014
Today #39;s Guests: National Journal Hotline Senior Analyst, Scott Bland White House Reporter, Politico, Josh Gerstein Huffington Post #39;s Sports Columnist, Jordan...
By: TawkrTV
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By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) - In a flood of last-minute sign-ups, hundreds of thousands of Americans rushed to apply for health insurance Monday, but deadline day for President Barack Obama's overhaul brought long, frustrating waits and a new spate of website ills.
"This is like trying to find a parking spot at Wal-Mart on Dec. 23," said Jason Stevenson, working with a Utah nonprofit group helping people enroll.
At times, more than 125,000 people were simultaneously using HealthCare.gov, straining it beyond its capacity. For long stretches Monday, applicants were shuttled to a virtual waiting room where they could leave an email address and be contacted later.
Officials said the site had not crashed but was experiencing very heavy volume. The website, which was receiving 1.5 million visitors a day last week, had recorded about 1.6 million through 2 p.m. EDT.
Supporters of the health care law fanned out across the country in a final dash to sign up uninsured Americans. People not signed up for health insurance by the deadline, either through their jobs or on their own, were subject to being fined by the IRS, and that threat was helping drive the final dash.
The administration announced last week that people still in line by midnight would get extra time to enroll.
The website stumbled early in the day - out of service for nearly four hours as technicians patched a software bug. Another hiccup in early afternoon temporarily kept new applicants from signing up, and then things slowed further. Overwhelmed by computer problems when launched last fall, the system has been working much better in recent months, but independent testers say it still runs slowly.
At Chicago's Norwegian American Hospital, people began lining up shortly after 7 a.m. to get help signing up for subsidized private health insurance.
Lucy Martinez, an unemployed single mother of two boys, said she'd previously tried to enroll at a clinic in another part of the city but there was always a problem. She'd wait and wait and they wouldn't call her name, or they would ask her for paperwork that she was told earlier she didn't need, she said. Her diabetic mother would start sweating so they'd have to leave.
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WASHINGTON (AP) In a flood of last-minute sign-ups, hundreds of thousands of Americans rushed to apply for health insurance Monday, but deadline day for President Barack Obama's overhaul brought long, frustrating waits and a new spate of website ills.
"This is like trying to find a parking spot at Wal-Mart on Dec. 23," said Jason Stevenson, working with a Utah nonprofit group helping people enroll.
At times, more than 125,000 people were simultaneously using HealthCare.gov, straining it beyond its capacity. For long stretches Monday, applicants were shuttled to a virtual waiting room where they could leave an email address and be contacted later.
Officials said the site had not crashed but was experiencing very heavy volume. The website, which was receiving 1.5 million visitors a day last week, had recorded about 1.6 million through 2 p.m. EDT.
Supporters of the health care law fanned out across the country in a final dash to sign up uninsured Americans. People not signed up for health insurance by the deadline, either through their jobs or on their own, were subject to being fined by the IRS, and that threat was helping drive the final dash.
The administration announced last week that people still in line by midnight would get extra time to enroll.
The website stumbled early in the day out of service for nearly four hours as technicians patched a software bug. Another hiccup in early afternoon temporarily kept new applicants from signing up, and then things slowed further. Overwhelmed by computer problems when launched last fall, the system has been working much better in recent months, but independent testers say it still runs slowly.
At Chicago's Norwegian American Hospital, people began lining up shortly after 7 a.m. to get help signing up for subsidized private health insurance.
Lucy Martinez, an unemployed single mother of two boys, said she'd previously tried to enroll at a clinic in another part of the city but there was always a problem. She'd wait and wait and they wouldn't call her name, or they would ask her for paperwork that she was told earlier she didn't need, she said. Her diabetic mother would start sweating so they'd have to leave.
She's heard "that this would be better here," said Martinez, adding that her mother successfully signed up Sunday at a different location.
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In a flood of last-minute sign-ups, hundreds of thousands of Americans rushed to apply for health insurance Monday, but deadline day for President Barack Obama's overhaul brought long, frustrating waits and a new spate of website ills.
"This is like trying to find a parking spot at Wal-Mart on Dec. 23," said Jason Stevenson, working with a Utah nonprofit group helping people enroll.
At times, more than 125,000 people were simultaneously using HealthCare.gov, straining it beyond its capacity. For long stretches Monday, applicants were shuttled to a virtual waiting room where they could leave an email address and be contacted later.
Officials said the site had not crashed but was experiencing very heavy volume. The website, which was receiving 1.5 million visitors a day last week, had recorded about 1.6 million through 2 p.m. EDT.
Supporters of the health care law fanned out across the country in a final dash to sign up uninsured Americans. People not signed up for health insurance by the deadline, either through their jobs or on their own, were subject to being fined by the IRS, and that threat was helping drive the final dash.
The administration announced last week that people still in line by midnight would get extra time to enroll.
The website stumbled early in the day out of service for nearly four hours as technicians patched a software bug. Another hiccup in early afternoon temporarily kept new applicants from signing up, and then things slowed further. Overwhelmed by computer problems when launched last fall, the system has been working much better in recent months, but independent testers say it still runs slowly.
At Chicago's Norwegian American Hospital, people began lining up shortly after 7 a.m. to get help signing up for subsidized private health insurance.
Lucy Martinez, an unemployed single mother of two boys, said she'd previously tried to enroll at a clinic in another part of the city but there was always a problem. She'd wait and wait and they wouldn't call her name, or they would ask her for paperwork that she was told earlier she didn't need, she said. Her diabetic mother would start sweating so they'd have to leave.
She's heard "that this would be better here," said Martinez, adding that her mother successfully signed up Sunday at a different location.
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AP Model Meghan McMahon laughs after giving a sticker to Iggy Cole, age 3, who gave it to his baby brother August, as McMahon handed out literature and juice shots on an outdoor pedestrian mall, encouraging the public to get health coverage under the Affordable Care Act, during a promotional campaign launched by Colorado HealthOP, a independent non-profit health care co-op, in Denver, Thursday March 20, 2014. More than 250,000 Coloradans have become covered through the state-run insurance exchange since enrollment began October 1, 2013, and those who still do not have health insurance have two more weeks to get coverage or pay a fine. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)
By KRISTEN WYATT/Associated Press/March 30, 2014
DENVER (AP) Bill Fales wanted a new baler and a better irrigation system for the 700-acre ranch where he raises grass-fed beef cattle, but he scrapped those plans when he saw his new health insurance premiums.
His Cold Mountain Ranch is in western Colorados Rocky Mountains, a rural area where outpatient services are twice as expensive as the state average. Fales recently saw his monthly premiums jump 50 percent, to about $1,800 a month.
Health care has always been more expensive in far-flung communities, where actuarial insurance data show fewer doctors, specialists and hospitals, as well as older residents in need of more health care services. But the rural-urban cost divide has been exacerbated by the Affordable Care Act.
We've gone from letting the insurance companies use a pre-existing medical condition to jack up rates to having a pre-existing zip code being the reason health insurance is unaffordable, Fales said. Its just wrong.
Geography is one of only three determinants insurance companies are allowed to use to set premiums under the federal health care law, along with age and tobacco use. Insurance officials say they need such controls to remain viable.
If premiums are not allowed to keep up with underlying medical costs, no company is going to survive, said Robert Zirkelbach, a spokesman with Americas Health Insurance Plans, a Washington, D.C.-based industry group.
The nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation recently rated the Colorado region where Fales lives as the nations priciest, based on rates for the lowest-priced silver plan, a mid-level policy. In this part of the state, a region that includes Aspen, the cheapest mid-level plan is $483 a month. In Denver, the same plan is about $280 a month.
Other insurance price zones on the most-expensive list include rural areas in Georgia, Nevada, Wisconsin and Wyoming. But the cost differences between densely and sparsely populated areas shouldnt come as a shock, Zirkelbach said, because its simply more expensive to deliver care in such communities.
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PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
31-Mar-2014
Contact: Kimberley Wang kimberley.wang@nus.edu.sg 65-660-11653 National University of Singapore
A team of scientists from the Cancer Science Institute of Singapore (CSI Singapore) at the National University of Singapore and National University Cancer Institute Singapore (NCIS), and their collaborators from the Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre, UCLA School of Medicine, demonstrated that a number of novel genetic defects are able to induce oesophageal cancer.
The research group, led by Professor H. Phillip Koeffler, Senior Principal Investigator at CSI Singapore and Deputy Director of NCIS, has conducted a successful comprehensive genomic study of oesophageal squamous carcinoma, a type of very aggressive cancer prevalent in Singapore and Southeast Asia.
This novel study was first published online in the prestigious journal Nature Genetics on 30 March 2014.
In this study, the researchers comprehensively investigated a large variety of genetic lesions which arose from oesophageal squamous carcinoma. The results showed enrichment of genetic abnormalities that affect several important cellular process and pathways in human cells, which promote the development of this malignancy. The scientists also uncovered a number of novel candidate genes that may make the cancer sensitive to chemotherapy. The researchers' findings provide a molecular basis for the comprehensive understanding of the pathophysiology of oesophageal carcinoma as well as for developing novel therapies for this deadly disease. These groundbreaking results have immediate relevance for cancer researchers, as well as for clinical oncologists who currently do not have effective therapeutic agents to treat this type of cancer.
Dr Lin Dechen, Research Fellow at CSI Singapore and first author of the research paper, noted, "Our findings are very relevant to Singapore and the region because this disease is endemic to Southeast Asia. More importantly, many potential therapeutic drugs have surfaced from our analysis, with some of them already in use for treating other types of tumours. We are more than excited to test their efficacy in oesophageal cancer."
Prof Koeffler said, "Oesophageal squamous cancer is one of most common causes of cancer-related death, and is particularly prevalent in Southeast Asia. We wanted to understand this major burden on the local public health system and to help find solutions. By completely investigating all human genes at the single nucleotide level, our current findings provide an enhanced road map for the study of the molecular basis underlying this somewhat neglected malignancy."
With the discovery of these previously unrecognised genetic defects, Prof Koeffler and his team will explore the detailed molecular mechanisms in the next phase of research. In addition, the scientists will evaluate whether some of these defects can be used in the clinic to cure this disease.
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Scientists discover a number of novel genetic defects which cause oesophageal cancer
Heart valve defects are a common cause of death in newborns. Scientists at the University of Bonn and the caesar research center have discovered "Creld1" is a key gene for the development of heart valves in mice. The researchers were able to show that a similar Creld1 gene found in humans functions via the same signaling pathway as in the mouse. This discovery is an important step forward in the molecular understanding of the pathogenesis of heart valve defects. The findings have been published in the journal "Developmental Cell."
Atrioventricular septal defect (AVSD) is a congenital heart defect in which the heart valves and cardiac septum are malformed. Children with Down's syndrome are particularly affected. Without surgical interventions, mortality in the first months of life is high. "Even in adults, unidentified valve defects occur in about six percent of patients with heart disease," says Prof. Dr. Michael Hoch, Executive Director of the Life & Medical Sciences (LIMES) Institute of the University of Bonn.
For years, there have been indications that changes in the so-called Creld1 gene (Cysteine-Rich with EGF-Like Domains 1) increase the pathogenic risk of AVSD. However, the exact molecular connection between the gene and the disease was previously unknown. A research team from the LIMES Institute and the caesar research center in Bonn has now shown, in a mouse model, that Creld1 plays a crucial role in heart development. Researchers at the University of Bonn switched off the Creld1 gene in mice: "We discovered that the precursor cells of the heart valves and the cardiac septum could no longer develop correctly," reports Dr. Elvira Mass from the LIMES Institute. This was an important indication that Creld1 is required at a very early stage for the development of the heart.
In embryonic development, the heart develops as the first organ
"In the embryonic stage, the heart develops as the very first organ. It pumps blood through the vascular system and is essential for supplying other organs of the body with oxygen and nutrients," reports the cooperation partner, Dr. Dagmar Wachten who directs the Minerva research group "Molecular Physiology" at the caesar research center and is engaged in research involving cardiac development. The research team discovered that the Creld1 gene controls the development of heart valves via the so-called calcineurin NFAT signaling pathway. The heart valve defects in mice lacking the Creld1 gene ultimately led to insufficient oxygen supply to the body, causing the mouse embryo to cease development after approximately eleven days.
Potential starting point for improving diagnostic measures
The research team anticipates that the findings can be carried over to patients. With regard to cardiac development, mice and humans are very similar and the Creld1 gene and the calcineurin/NFAT signaling pathway likewise function analogously in both species. "Our results contribute to a better understanding of the molecular basis of heart development and, in the medium-term, to improved diagnosis of unidentified heart valve diseases," explains Prof. Hoch. Interestingly, the calcineurin/NFAT signaling pathway is not only active in the heart but also in immune cells. In transplant medicine, it has to be suppressed over the long-term by drugs such as cyclosporine A so that transplanted organs are not rejected. "Within the scope of the ImmunoSensation Excellence Cluster, we are currently investigating the mechanism of action of Creld1 in immune cells," says Prof. Hoch, who is convinced that it will also be of importance in transplant medicine in the future.
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The above story is based on materials provided by Universitt Bonn. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
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PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
31-Mar-2014
Contact: Robin Dutcher robin.Dutcher@hitchcock.org 603-653-9056 The Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth
While patients diagnosed with bladder cancer usually face a favorable prognosis, many experience recurrence after treatment. Because frequent, painful screenings are needed to identify recurrences, the ablility to identify patients at high risk of recurrent cancer could help to improve quality of life for all bladder cancer patients.
A new study published in BJU International, "Genetic polymorphisms modify bladder cancer recurrence and survival in a U.S. population-based prognostic study," suggests that certain inherited DNA sequences may affect a bladder cancer patient's prognosis. These findings may help physicians identify sub-groups of high risk bladder cancer patients who should receive more frequent screenings and agressive treatment and monitoring.
"The genetic markers that we found could potentially be useful for individually tailoring surveillance and treatment of bladder cancer patients," said principal investigator Angeline S. Andrew, PhD, Assistant Professor of Community and Family Medicine and the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth and a member of the Norris Cotton Cancer Center.
Andrew and her colleagues analyzed the genes of 563 patients to identify genetic variants that modified time to bladder cancer recurrence and patient survival. The investigators isolated DNA from immune cells circulating in the blood, and then examined the genes involved in major biological processes linked to cancer, including cell death, proliferation, DNA repair, hormone regulation, immune surveillance, and cellular metabolism. After diagnosis, patients were followed over time to ascertain recurrence and survival status. Patients were followed for a median of 5.4 years, and half of patients experienced at least one recurrence.
The team found that patients with a variant form of the aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) gene were more likely to experience bladder cancer recurrence shortly after treatment. This gene encodes an enzyme involved in alcohol metabolism. Time to recurrence was also shorter for patients who had a variation in the vascular cellular adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM1) gene and were treated with immunotherapy. VCAM1 encodes a glycoprotein involved in the development of lymphoid tissues. Patients who had non-invasive tumors and a single variant allele in the DNA repair gene XRCC4 tended to live longer than patients who did not have the variant.
"Our present data suggest novel associations between genetic variations (SNPs) and bladder cancer recurrence that merit future investigation," said Andrew. "Prognostic variations will help us to identify sub-groups of bladder cancer patients at high risk of tumor recurrence and progression so that they can receive more personalized bladder cancer surveillance and treatment."
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Certain genetic variants may identify patients at higher risk of bladder cancer recurrence
IRVINE, CA and FULTON, MD (PRWEB) March 31, 2014
Proove Biosciences, the leading personalized pain medicine laboratory, is proud to announce its membership in the Personalized Medicine Coalition, a unique organization created to advance personalized medicine as a viable solution to the challenges of healthcare safety, efficiency, and cost.
Proove Biosciences leads the industry in scientifically driven genetic pain medicine research, and has presented findings on how genetic analysis can help physicians make more informed and efficient decisions on pain treatments. Over the last three years the companys genetic testing services have helped physicians analyze patients risk profile for developing prescription narcotic dependencies, as well as which medications will be most effective in treating their pain.
We are tremendously excited to be a member of the Personalized Medicine Coalition, and contribute towards the advancement of realizing personal medicines life-changing potential, stated Proove Biosciences founder and CEO, Brian Meshkin. As a member of PMC, we are looking forward to collaborating and working along side industry leaders to shape, promote, and foster new mediums that will strengthen personalized medicines market viability through policy initiatives and public support.
Proove Founder and CEO Brian Meshkin has also been appointed to both the Science Policy and Public Policy committees of the Personalized Medicine Coalition. Brian brings extensive background conducting scientific research in the field of personalized medicine, having developed the worlds largest practice-based evidence (PBE) database of personalized pain medicine and being an author on over 15 publications in peer-reviewed medical journals. His first publication was in Mutation Research in 2005 outlining the proofs of principle in pharmacogenetics and laying out, for the first time, a pharmacoeconomic model for demonstrating the benefits of personalized medicine testing. Additionally, Brian has a background in public policy, having recently served as an elected official in the State of Maryland and having successfully lobbied as a citizen for various pieces of legislation. Currently, he serves on the Board of Education of Howard County, Maryland.
About The Personalized Medicine Coalition The Personalized Medicine Coalition (PMC) was launched in 2004 to educate the public and policymakers, and to promote new ways of thinking about health care. Today, PMC represents a broad spectrum of more than 225 innovator, academic, industry, patient, provider and payer communities, as we seek to advance the understanding and adoption of personalized medicine concepts and products for the benefit of patients.
About Proove Biosciences Proove Biosciences is the leading personalized pain medicine laboratory that provides proprietary genetic testing services to help physicians improve outcomes for patients and contain costs for insurers. With offices in Southern California and the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area, the company is the research leader investigating and publishing data on the genetics of pain medicine with clinical research sites across the United States. Physicians use Proove Biosciences testing to improve pain medicine selection, dosing, and evaluation of medications they prescribe. From a simple cheek swab collected in the office, Proove performs proprietary genetic tests in its CLIA-certified laboratory to identify patients at risk for misuse of prescription pain medications and evaluate their metabolism of medications. For more information, please visit http://www.proovebio.com or call toll free 855-PROOVE-BIO (855-776-6832).
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Proove Biosciences Is Now a Member of The Personalized Medicine Coalition
BRITISH SCIENTISTS CLONE DINOSAUR
Scientists at Liverpool #39;s John Moore University have successfully cloned a dinosaur, a spokesman from the university said yesterday. The dinosaur, a baby Apa...
By: nouvelles
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GMOs What You Need To Know - Dr. Michael Hansen, PhD
Mike has been sharing his scientific expertise with Consumers Union for more than 20 years. A biologist and ecologist who did his Ph.D. in the techniques of ...
By: Matthieu Cameron
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GMOs What You Need To Know - Dr. Michael Hansen, PhD - Video
Can You Genetically Enhance Yourself?
FOLLOW me to asapSCIENCE: http://bit.ly/1oevXDm SUBSCRIBE: http://bit.ly/1gAEtTd ***CLICK "SHOW MORE" FOR LINKS*** An Introduction to Genetic Engineering (TE...
By: Vsauce3
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2014 Young Futurist
A clip of me during violin lesson with Todd Markey.
By: The Tambourines Project
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Austin, TX (PRWEB) March 31, 2014
Finding a career that you love takes time, patience and practice. Futurist Jack Uldrich has put all of those elements into play over the past several years. And now he is having the time of his life writing and speaking about future trends.
How exactly does one become a futurist? Uldrich describes his journey as an evolution. He began his career as a naval intelligence officer, worked as a military planner in the Pentagon, and served as Governor Jesse Ventura's Director of Strategy. Clearly gifted with intelligence and insight, Uldrich has always enjoyed research and sharing his findings. Thinking at first perhaps politics was his calling, acting as the head of the Independence Party in Minnesota, Uldrich realized his family needed to come first. So he began crafting a life where he could work from home and focus on being an author, which then morphed into a high gear public speaking career that takes him all over the world.
Starting out with topics on leadership, writing books on Lewis & Clark and George Marshall, to name a few, Uldrich quickly saw that his real passion was future trends. Having become taken with nanotechnology in the early 2000s, Uldrich went to work on his book, "The Next Big Thing is Really Small." Since then, Uldrich has never looked back. In fact, he now makes his career all about looking forward.
A sample of his latest book, Foresight 20/20: A Futurist Explores the Trends Transforming Tomorrow can be viewed here.
Uldrich runs two paths simultaneously--focusing on the key features of looking forward and "unlearning." What may at first appear to be a paradox, the two concepts actually work in perfect harmony. Uldrich often quotes the Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu, saying, "To attain knowledge, add things every day. To attain wisdom, subtract things every day." And so it goes with Uldrich's journey. He writes and speaks to a variety of industries on such topics as the Internet of Things, how to future-proof your business, and why future trends demand unlearning. Uldrich would define unlearning as, "subtracting habits and patterns that no longer serve us, in order to open our eyes to the world of possibility before us."
To that end, Uldrich has a big month ahead with the following eight engagements:
April 2: Fiatech 2014 Technology Conference & Showcase, Huntington Beach, CA
April 7: Retail Asset Protection Conference, Indianapolis, IN
April 11: Chu Vision Annual Conference, Minneapolis, MN
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