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Contur Software Adds Further Chemistry Tools To Web-Based ELN
Contur Software, a leading provider of electronic laboratory notebook (ELN) systems, announced added chemistry functionality in iLabber, the company"s recently launched high-end ELN system available as an online service. Using a software as a service (SaaS) model, Contur Software is making iLabber available to individual researchers and smaller R&D organizations that previously have not been able to utilize the advantages of high-end ELN systems due to investments in hardware, licenses and maintenance.
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Adolescent Drinking Linked To Behavioural Problems
Teens who drink heavily are more likely than their peers to have behavioural and attention problems and suffer from anxiety and depression, a team led by researchers from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) has reported.
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Blogs Comment On Women's Health Disparities, Sotomayor Nomination, Other Topics
The following summarizes selected women"s health-related blog entries. ~ "Report: Higher Rates of Unintended Pregnancy, Abortion Among Women of Color," Sharon Camp, RH Reality Check: A new report from the Kaiser Family Foundation on health disparities between white women and women of color "provides further stronger evidence debunking claims" from antiabortion-rights advocates who "have long argued that high abortion rates among minorities are the result of supposed aggressive marketing by abortion providers to minority communities," Camp, president and CEO of the Guttmacher Institute, writes. In addition to identifying disparities in conditions like heart disease and cancer, the report documents "widespread disparities in access to health insurance and health screenings" and explores growing evidence of the association between social factors and health behaviors, access and outcomes, according to Camp. She continues that research from Guttmacher has consistently demonstrated that "rates among racial and ethnic minorities -- especially blacks and Hispanics -- are directly linked to their higher rates of unintended pregnancy, which in turn reflect pervasive health disparities more generally." Camp writes that the "fundamental question policymakers should be asking is not why women of color have high abortion rates, but rather what can be done to help them have fewer unintended pregnancies and achieve better health outcomes more generally," such as improved access to affordable contraception. Women"s dissatisfaction with health care providers, quality of service and the contraceptive methods themselves also are factors in contraceptive use, as are "[u]nstable life situations," which can make consistent use a low priority for some women, according to Camp. She writes, "By continuing to label abortion providers as "racists" and refusing to support expanded access to contraceptive services, antiabortion-rights activists are by no means part of the solution -- to high rates of unintended pregnancy and abortion among racial and ethnic minorities or to persistent and tragic disparities in health care generally" (Camp, RH Reality Check, 6/15).~ "What"s Next for Women"s Legal Rights in the Supreme Court?" Amy Matsui, Womenstake: Matsui, senior counsel for the National Women"s Law Center, examines several women"s rights issues "that we see peeking around the corner" of the next Supreme Court session. Matsui writes that "increasingly draconian abortion restrictions have begun to work their way through state legislatures." These restrictions include giving personhood rights to fetuses, mandates on the information women are given prior to abortion procedures and "outright abortion bans," she writes. Challenges to laws that expand protections for providers who deny health care services also "are likely to come before the courts," Matsui writes. Challenges to health care reform proposals also are likely, "specifically, the interaction of the federal statute that governs employee health care and pension plans ... and any new requirements for employers to provide health care coverage," according to Matsui. The Supreme Court has "obviously considered the underlying legal doctrines in these cases (the constitutional right to privacy, federal anti-discrimination statutes, Equal Protection guarantees and federal benefits statutes) in the past; some might say that there is a clear roadmap of where the Court should go in some of these cases," Matsui writes, concluding, "But when every vote counts on the Supreme Court, women should be watching what cases come next" (Matsui, Womenstake, 6/12).~ "Antiabortion Groups" Case Against Sotomayor," Dan Gilgoff, U.S. News & World Report"s "God and Country": "With no clear evidence for a pro-abortion-rights position in her judicial decisions, antiabortion groups" case against Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor can be summed up in eight words: the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund," Gilgoff writes. From 1980 to 1992, Sotomayor sat on the l
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AARP Responds To Health Reform Scare Tactics

AARP Executive Vice President John Rother issued the following statement in response to recent commentary by Betsy McCaughey in various media outlets on health care reform measures passed or currently being considered by Congress. "Betsy McCaughey"s recent commentary on health care reform column in various media outlets is rife with gross-and even cruel-distortions. "Ms. McCaughey has again launched her customary broadside attack against comparative effectiveness research. She describes this term as "code" for "limiting care based on a patient"s age." In fact the term for that is "age rating," a practice used by insurance companies to discriminate against older Americans against which AARP is vigorously fighting, and we look forward to her next column to help the cause. ""Comparative effectiveness research," on the other hand, is a technical term that just means giving doctors and patients the ability to compare different kinds of treatments to find out which one works best for which patient. "Some estimates say that only about half of all therapies that patients receive have been backed up by head-to-head comparisons with alternatives. While our country spends more than $2 trillion a year on health care, we spend less than 0.1 percent on evaluating how that care works compared to other options. "This research has been around (although sadly not enough) for decades, enjoying support from political leaders of both parties, doctors, patients, and consumer advocacy groups. "The main opponents of this research are those groups with a vested interest in a health care system that wastes billions of dollars each year on ineffective or unnecessary drugs, treatments or tests. Given Ms. McCaughey"s position as a Director of a medical device producer, I would hope that any potential conflict of interest has not influenced her commentary. "More concerning, Ms. McCaughey"s criticism misinterprets legislation that would actually help empower individuals and doctors to make their own choices on end-of-life care. "This measure would allow Medicare to pay doctors for taking the time to talk with individuals about difficult end-of-life care decisions. It would help provide people with better information on the positives and negatives-both physical and financial-that different treatments can mean for them and their families. "Facing a terminal disease or debilitating accident, some people will choose to take every possible life-saving measure in the hopes that treatment or even a cure will allow them more time with their families. Others will decide that additional treatment would impose too great a burden-emotional, physical and otherwise-on themselves and their families, declining extraordinary measures and instead choosing care to manage their discomfort. Either way, it should be their choice. "This measure would not only help people make the best decisions for themselves, but also better ensure that their wishes are followed. "To suggest otherwise is a gross, and even cruel, distortion-especially for any family that has been forced to make the difficult decisions on care for loved ones approaching the end of their lives. "AARP is committed to improving the quality, effectiveness, and affordability of health care for our 40 million members and their families. We will fight any measure that would prevent individuals and their doctors from making their own health care decisions. We will also fight the campaign of misinformation that vested interests are using to try to scare older Americans in order to protect the status quo. Profits should never be allowed to come before people in this debate." AARP


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