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Discovery Of Active Genes In The Developing Mammal Brain
A study by scientists at Penn State provides new information about the genes that are involved in a mammal"s early brain development, including those that contribute to neurological disorders. The study is the first to use high-throughput sequencing to uncover active genes in developing brains, and it is likely the best evidence thus far for the activity in the brain of such a large number of genes. The research results one day could lead to the development of drugs or gene therapies that treat neurological disorders such as autism and mental retardation. The research, which was led by Distinguished Professor of Biology Hong Ma and Associate Professor of Biology Gong Chen, will be published online in the Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences sometime during the week of 13 July 2009.
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Republicans Playing 'Abortion Card' On Health Reform, American Prospect Opinion Piece States
The "religious right and its Republican enablers" are "playing the abortion card" with health care reform legislation by contending that "federal government dollars will pay directly for abortions," according to an American Prospect opinion piece by Dana Goldstein, an associate editor for the magazine. It is "unlikely" that federal money would be used this way, but the groups "want grassroots conservatives to believe it will, hoping the resulting outcry will scuttle attempts to reform our expensive health care system," Goldstein continues. She writes, "This rhetoric is beyond hyperbolic -- it is downright deceptive."Goldstein quotes Adam Sonfield, a senior policy associate at the Guttmacher Institute, who said discussion of family planning in federal law ""never includes abortion."" She adds, "In actuality, "family planning" language refers exclusively to contraceptive services, in part because of the Hyde Amendment," which bars the use of federal Medicaid dollars for abortion. She also notes that reproductive health issues are "so politicized ... that even to offer birth control to poor women who do not meet Medicaid"s strict eligibility requirements, individual states must apply for a waiver from the federal government." About half of states have done so, she says. In "choosing what services to cover under any potential public insurance plan," the HHS secretary "will likely be bound by all of the existing laws that prevent the federal government from financing abortion," according to Goldstein. She adds, "None of these restrictions would be explicitly overturned by any of the health reform proposals currently being considered in Congress."Antiabortion-rights Senate Republicans have said they will oppose any health reform bill "that subsidizes abortion coverage or even includes, in the proposed health insurance exchanges, private insurers that cover abortion," Goldstein writes. She adds that 87% of existing health plans include some abortion coverage, meaning that most women would lose coverage under the Republicans" demands. "The result would be a near-blanket restriction on women"s access to insurance-subsidized abortion, one far more radical than the Hyde Amendment," Goldstein says. Meanwhile, women"s health advocates have said that overturning the Hyde Amendment is not currently their top priority because "they are simply too busy playing defense on health reform" and do not have the votes, Goldstein writes.According to Goldstein, by "playing the abortion card, the real goal of anti-choicers is not only to maintain existing restrictions on abortion access, but to use health reform as a vehicle to expand them to the majority of American women." She writes, "If such efforts lead to legislative impasse, many conservatives will be delighted." She concludes, "After all, they"ve never really put any political muscle behind fixing our inadequate health care system" (Goldstein, American Prospect, 7/14).
News of the day
New Support For A Controversial Mechanism Underlying An Irregular Heart Beat
The most common form of human heart beat irregularity (atrial fibrillation) can be fatal if left untreated. It has been suggested that it is caused, in part, by calcium leaking from a cellular store in heart cells, potentially through the RyR2 channel, although this mechanism remains controversial. However, a team of researchers at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, and Dresden University of Technology, Germany, has provided support for this hypothesis by showing that the protein CaMKII can enhance RyR2-mediated calcium leak, promoting atrial fibrillation in mice.
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Today's Selection Of Opinions And Editorials

First, Make No Mistakes The New York Times The Obama administration should take a lesson from the transportation safety board"s successes and establish an independent agency charged with identifying and eliminating the causes of medical error (Hall, 7/28). Media Needs To Deepen Coverage Of Healthcare Reform Los Angeles Times America has a healthcare crisis, yes, and so do broad segments of the media, particularly television news. They have transformed the story of how to fix an overpriced and inadequate care system into an overheated political scrum, with endless chatter about deadlines and combatants and very little about the kind of medical care people get and how it might change (Rainey, 7/29). Can"t Blame Liberal Media For Health Bill Stall The Wall Street Journal Broadcast coverage tilts heavily in favor of Barack Obama"s big government plan (Noyes and Seymour, 7/28). A Market For Health Reform The Washington Post Amid the clamor over public insurance options -- which, incidentally, would be housed on the exchange -- and employer tax exclusions and all the other points of controversy, the health insurance exchange is hardly being discussed. And there are signs that it, and thus the long-term promise of reform, might be in danger (Klein, 7/29). Will Health-Care Reform Hurt Washington Kids? The Seattle Times If Washington state has to trade in its ambitious and effective children"s health insurance plan for a national offering, it had better be for something much better than what we have (Varner, 7/28). The All-Powerful August Break CNN Members of Congress value the recess as a time to recharge their batteries, reconnect with their family and visit with their constituents. Pelosi may well have realized that a wise leader might use the August recess as a deadline, but not a cudgel with which to beat her colleagues (Feehery, 7/28). How CEOs Can Help Fix Health Care The Wall Street Journal We recommend executives make one or more of three innovative changes: 1) encourage employees to use nurse-staffed in-store health clinics for common ailments, 2) partner with integrated health systems like Kaiser Permanente, and 3) set up company-run clinics at corporate offices and plants (Christensen and Hwang, 7/28). 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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