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Artificial Liver For Drug Tests
If you have hay fever, headaches or a cold, it"s only a short way to the nearest chemist. The drugs, on the other hand, can take eight to ten years to develop. Until now animal experiments have been an essential step, yet they continue to raise ethical issues. "Our artificial organ systems are aimed at offering an alternative to animal experiments," says Professor Heike Mertsching of the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB in Stuttgart. "Particularly as humans and animals have different metabolisms. 30 per cent of all side effects come to light in clinical trials." The test system, which Professor Mertsching has developed jointly with Dr. Johanna Schanz, should in future give pharmaceutical companies greater security and shorten the path to new drugs. Both researchers received the "Human-centered Technology" prize for their work.
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In A Chemical Library, Yale Researchers Find Keys To Cell Movement
Rummaging through a biotechnology company"s chemical closet, Yale University researchers found two molecules that will allow scientists to better study how cells move. The study in the journal Nature, published online Aug. 2, describes how two small molecules discovered by Cytokinetics Inc. block the action of a key complex that directs the assembly of actin filaments, which produce the force to help cells move. The target of these inhibitors is the Arp2/3 complex, a cellular component so vital that cells die without it. This dependence has made it challenging to learn exactly which cellular processes depend upon the complex.
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Strategies To Assist Parents Manage Children's Worries Over The H1N1 Flu (Swine Flu)
Acknowledging children"s concerns and reinforcing children"s coping are two key strategies to assist parents in managing their children"s worries over the H1N1 flu (swine flu), reports the Australian Psychological Society (APS).
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Massachusetts Cuts Health Coverage By $115 Million

"Overseers of Massachusetts" trailblazing health care program made their first cuts recently, trimming $115 million, or 12 percent, from Commonwealth Care, which subsidizes premiums for needy residents and is the centerpiece of the 2006 law," according to the Boston Globe. The Connector Authority board made the cuts in response to two recession side effects: "the state budget crisis and a surge in enrollment by the recently unemployed." Commonwealth Care"s enrollment has increased in the last three months from 165,000 member to 177,000 members, and is projected to grow to 212,000 next year. The Globe reports that the largest share of the savings will result from slowing enrollment. "An estimated 18,000 poor residents who qualify for full subsidies, but who forget to designate a health plan, will no longer be automatically assigned a plan and enrolled and thus could face delays in getting care." Dental coverage will be eliminated for roughly 92,000 poor enrollees, garnering savings of an estimated $10 million. "Also hanging in the balance is the health insurance status of 28,000 legal immigrants whose Commonwealth Care coverage was dropped in the budget lawmakers approved for the fiscal year that begins July 1. Governor Deval Patrick has until Monday to decide whether to veto any of that budget, which set aside $116 million less for Commonwealth Care than he proposed." An additional $32 million comes from slowing payments to managed care health insurance companies. "Regulators said that by slowing enrollment growth, the companies would receive less money than they had banked on when they submitted their bids earlier this year." The progress of the Massachusetts health care initiative is being closely watched in Washington, where Congress is crafting national legislation to extend coverage to more Americans. The Massachusetts law, cited as one model in the national debate, requires nearly everyone to have health insurance or pay a tax penalty (Lazar, 6/24). This information was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at kaiserhealthnews.org. © Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.


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