Former Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) on Tuesday spoke at the Democratic National Convention in support of presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) and his proposals on health care and other issues, Dow Jones reports.

The National Science Foundation has awarded $356,000 to Cindy Lee, environmental chemist and a professor of environmental engineering and earth sciences at Clemson University, to look at how pollutants cycle through fish and other organisms and wind up on the dinner table. The research will focus on PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls), pollutants that have been implicated in problems with brain development in humans.

Injury prevention experts have long known that teens are less likely than other motorists to wear seat belts while driving. Now, researchers from the Meharry-State Farm Alliance at Meharry Medical College have discovered lack of seat belt use by teen passengers may be an even bigger problem.

Now that Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is making headway with an Education Revolution, he should immediately turn his attention to spearheading a Rural Health Revolution, the Rural Doctors Association of Australia (RDAA) urged.

The Joint Commission and Joint Commission Resources (JCR) announce the 2008 Hospital Executive Briefings conferences. The conferences offer leaders an opportunity to stay up-to-date on key changes to The Joint Commission's accreditation process by focusing on the annual changes to the standards, elements of performance and National Patient Safety Goals.

The inaugural year of The Kavli Prize will be celebrated with a special ceremony that features H.R.H. Crown Prince Haakon Magnus presenting the prize to the seven Kavli laureates. Acclaimed scientists in the fields of astrophysics, nanoscience and neuroscience will give lectures throughout the week. For more about the Kavli Prize, including a schedule of all lectures and events, click

Leaders from Summa Health System's Institute for Professionalism Inquiry have released a new book, "Narrative in Health Care." The book delves into the practice of narrative medicine, which recognizes that the stories of patients and clinicians are at the heart of patient care.

Australian hospitals should avoid prescribing expensive broad-spectrum antibiotics for pneumonia to avoid the development of more drug-resistant super bugs, according to a University of Melbourne study.

A case study of three health care institutions -- public, for-profit and not-for-profit -- within one metropolitan area found that self-pay patients must navigate a system that provides no guarantees medical centers will follow their own policies for providing uncompensated care. The study is published in the August issue of the journal Medical Care.

Dr Chris Smith, Clinical Lecturer and Specialist Registrar in virology at the University of Cambridge has been awarded the prestigious Royal Society(1) Kohn award for his work engaging a diverse audience with science, it was announced today (Thursday 28 August 2008). Dr Smith received the award for his pioneering radio show - the Naked Scientists - and his podcasts and books that reach audiences worldwide.

Fritz London Memorial Prize goes to Springer advisory board member Springer advisory board member Vladimir V. Dmitriev, along with fellow scientists Yuriy M. Bunkov and Igor A. Fomin, have been named winners of the 2008 Fritz London Memorial Prize for their discovery and understanding of the "Phase Coherent Spin Precession and Spin Superfluidity of 3He-B.

Downgrades in the credit ratings of U.S. not-for-profit health care systems and hospitals exceeded upgrades by a 2-to-1 ratio this year for the first time since 2003, according to a report released on Monday by Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports.

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act notification form received by patients during doctor visits "offers no control over who sees your information and instead just tells you about some of the entities that can access your information, rather than asking for your permission," according to a

While mainstream news coverage is still a primary source of information for the latest in policy debates and the health care marketplace, online blogs have become a significant part of the media landscape, often presenting new perspectives on policy issues and drawing attention to under-reported topics.

Population Services International has created HIV/AIDS awareness programs inside five Mexican prisons to address myths surrounding the disease and prevent its spread, the New York Times reports.

The Alabama State Employees' Insurance Board last week approved a plan that will require state employees who are obese or have health problems to make progress to address those issues or pay a monthly charge for health insurance, the AP/Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

A new proposed regulation would increase awareness of, and compliance with, three separate laws protecting federally funded health care providers' right of conscience. This proposed rule was placed on public display at the Federal Register today by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). "This proposed regulation is about the legal right of a health care professional to practice according to their conscience," HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt said.

New findings published in the August 27 issue of JAMA call into question the tight glucose control that many professional societies recommend for critically ill adults. Researchers performed a meta-analysis and found that tight glucose control is not associated with a significant reduction in risk of death in the hospital, but it is linked to an increased risk of hypoglycemia (lower than normal glucose sugar levels).

Family physicians are commending Monday's order by a federal district judge that overturned the State of California's 10% cut in fees to physicians who see the 6.5 million patients covered by the Medi-Cal program. "The judge agreed with our evidence that patients would suffer if the payment cuts were allowed to stand," said Jeffrey Luther, MD, president of the 7,000-member California Academy of Family Physicians (CAFP). The physicians learned of the ruling late yesterday.

The U.S. Pharmacopeial (USP) Convention has announced a new drug safety tool designed to help patients, caregivers, pharmacists, physicians and others in avoiding medication errors that may occur because of drug names that look alike and/or sound alike. This "Drug Error Finder" is a searchable database of almost 1,500 commonly used drugs reported to be involved in medication mix-ups in the U.S. health care system since 2003.

Reflecting the expanding scope of chronic disease care and the impact of economic, social, cultural, and environmental factors on health care systems and practices, DMAA: The Care Continuum Alliance and publisher Mary Ann Liebert Inc. have renamed the peer-reviewed journal of DMAA Population Health Management. The new name of the journal (formerly Disease Management) begins with the August 2008 issue (Volume 11, Number 4).

Better navigation is critical for the safety of remote workers, and to support productivity improvements within the mining industry. The research project will develop two new Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) technologies. The first system is an integrated GNSS receiver that receives signals from several satellite constellations as well as inputs from other sources. It will provide more accurate navigation and will be suitable for mass-market applications.

New Alcohol-Based Hand Sanitizer May Minimize Viral Transmission, Including Norovirus A newly developed ethanol-based hand sanitizer may significantly impact public health by minimizing the transmission of multiple viruses, including norovirus, from food handlers and care providers.

Troubled children hurt their classmates' math and reading scores and worsen their behavior, according to new research by economists at the University of California, Davis, and University of Pittsburgh. The study, "Externalities in the Classroom: How Children Exposed to Domestic Violence Affect Everyone's Kids," was published this month by the National Bureau of Economic Research and is available online at

The supply of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT) scanners in Canada increased significantly over four years, according to a new report from the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI). Medical Imaging in Canada, 2007 reports that in 2007, there were 419 CT scanners and 222 MRI machines installed and operational in Canada, up from 325 and 149, respectively, in 2003.

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health?s Malaria Research Institute have identified a previously unknown virus that is infectious to Anopheles gambiae?the mosquito primarily responsible for transmitting malaria. According to the researchers, the discovered virus could one day be used to pass on new genetic information to An. gambiae mosquitoes as part of a strategy to control malaria, which kills over one million people worldwide each year.

De Beers African Health Scholars Named

A study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found that 38 percent of Medicare beneficiaries are accompanied to routine medical visits. These accompanied beneficiaries tended to be older, sicker and less educated but more satisfied with their health care provider compared to unaccompanied patients. The study is published in the July 14 edition of Archives of Internal Medicine.

Washing hands with soap and water in preparation for delivery significantly reduced the risk of death for infants within the first month of life, according to a study in Nepal conducted by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The study found a 19 percent lower risk of death among newborns born at home in rural Nepal when the birth attendant washed their hands before delivery. The study also found a 44 percent reduction in risk of death if mothers washed their hands prior to handling their newborn infant. The findings are published in the July 2008 edition of the journal Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine.

A single, oral dose of vitamin A, given to infants shortly after birth in the developing world can reduce their risk of death by 15 percent, according to a study conducted by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The study is published in the July 2008 edition of the journal Pediatrics.

Gun-related homicide among young men rose sharply in the United States in recent years even though the nation?s overall homicide rate remained flat, according to a study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Between 1999 and 2005, homicide involving firearms increased 31 percent among black men ages 25 to 44 and 12 percent among white men of the same age. The study is published in Online First edition of the Journal of Urban Health.

High blood pressure in childhood is associated with higher blood pressure or hypertension in adulthood, according to a study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

When it comes to injury-related deaths, the gap between black and white American youths is narrowing, according to a study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The study found that between 1999 and 2005 injury-related deaths among blacks ages 15 to 24 decreased, while injury-related deaths among whites increased. The findings are published in the June, 2008, edition of Injury Prevention.

In many resource-poor countries, infants born to mothers with HIV receive a single dose of nevirapine (NVP) and a one-week dose of zidovudine (ZDV) to prevent transmission of HIV from the mother to her newborn. The results of a randomized trial led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the University of Malawi College of Medicine found that extending the routine antiretroviral regimen can significantly reduce the risk of mother-to-child HIV transmission. The study is available in the June 4 online edition of New England Journal of Medicine and will appear in the June 10 print edition.

As many as 3.2 million Burmese are estimated to be affected by the devastation caused by Cyclone Nargis, according to geographic risk models developed by researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Lehman College, CUNY. Using Geographic Information Systems (GIS), the researchers calculated the likely distribution of the population of Burma (also known as Myanmar) and developed maps of the regions at greatest risk from the storm?s effects. The maps and a summary of the current humanitarian situation are available at www.jhsph.edu/burmacyclone.

Obesity may increase adults? risk for having dementia, according to researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Their analysis of published obesity and dementia prospective follow-up studies over the past two decades shows a consistent relationship between the two diseases. The results are published by The International Association for the Study of Obesity in the May, 2008 issue of Obesity Reviews.

Dean Michael J. Klag strongly disagrees with this decision and has directed that POPLINE administrators restore "abortion" as a search term immediately. He has also launch an inquiry to determine why this change occurred.

Mpilonhle (pronounced em-pee-lon-shlay) is a Zulu term that in English means ?a good life.? It?s also the name of an innovative program that operates in South Africa?s rural Umkhanyakude District and aims to help adolescents achieve a good life and avoid HIV through health education and computer-skills training.

The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has signed an agreement with the Education Development Corporation in Taiwan to create an Executive Master of Public Health (MPH) degree program for health professionals in the Asia-Pacific region.

Parents worldwide are doing little to protect their children from exposure to secondhand smoke, according to a study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Exposure to secondhand smoke has been extensively shown to increase the risk for numerous illnesses and premature death. The household study, conducted in 31 countries, found that 82 percent of parents who smoked reported smoking around their children.

The Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute is hosting its Fourth International Research Conference at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, Md. March 17-18. The two-day conference will explore the latest developments from many fields of malaria research, including discussions of malaria parasite genetics and strategies for controlling mosquitoes without insecticides.

The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has signed a long-term agreement with the Health Authority?Abu Dhabi (HAAD) to develop research, educational and public health programs in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.

The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has received a five-year, $12 million dollar grant to fund the Center for Childhood Asthma in the Urban Environment. The center, led by Patrick Breysse and Gregory Diette, will examine how exposure to indoor and outdoor pollution and allergens may impact asthmatic children in Baltimore. The center is one of three new research centers of the DISCOVER (Disease Investigation Through Specialized Clinically-Oriented Ventures in Environmental Research) initiative funded by National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), part of the National Institutes of Health. The DISCOVER centers are expected to bridge the gap between basic research and clinical treatment of diseases caused by environmental factors.

Maternal and child undernutrition are the cause of more than 35 percent of all child deaths and 11 percent of the global disease burden, according to a study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The study, published in the medical journal The Lancet, is the first in a series of five studies analyzing the global impact of maternal and child undernutrition. The research series highlights the critical role of early nutrition in the health and development of children and the economic growth of nations.

Adolescents who participate in physical education at school are more likely to maintain a normal weight as young adults, according to a study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. For each weekday of physical education at school the odds of being an overweight adult decreased by 5 percent.

28 August 2008 | GENEVA -- A girl in Lesotho is likely to live 42 years less than another in Japan. In Sweden, the risk of a woman dying during pregnancy and childbirth is 1 in 17 400; in Afghanistan the odds are 1 in 8. These "social determinants of health" have been the focus of a three-year investigation by an eminent group of policy makers, academics, former heads of state and former ministers of health which has presented its findings to the WHO Director-General Dr Margaret Chan.

27 August 2008 -- For public health, the complexity of cancer control has increased enormously following the shift of the disease burden from wealthy to less affluent countries. Cancer causes around 7.9 million deaths worldwide each year.

19 August 2008 -- Rising flood waters across West Africa are intensifying health risks for millions of people, and adding to the impact of the food price crisis. International aid is needed since heavy rains could exacerbate health threats for conditions including malaria, diarrhoea and other potentially fatal communicable diseases.

5 August 2008 -- At the XVII International AIDS Conference in Mexico City, WHO launched a package of priority interventions designed to help low- and middle-income countries move towards universal access to HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, care and support.

5 August 2008 -- As delegates gather at the International AIDS Conference (3-8 August), WHO and the World Bank address the pressing global debate around health systems and initiatives in specific aspects of health, nutrition and population.

4 August 2008 -- Health and criminal justice authorities need to provide targeted services to drug users, especially those who inject drugs, to prevent and treat tuberculosis (TB) and HIV. TB is a major cause of death for people living with HIV, but drug users who are HIV-positive face stigma, discrimination and barriers to accessing life-saving treatments.

1 August 2008 -- WHO is pleased to join the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action in celebrating World Breastfeeding Week from 1 to 7 August 2008. This year's theme is "going for the gold by supporting mothers to breastfeed".

31 July 2008 -- As the world's leaders and AIDS community gather in Mexico for the biennial global conference on HIV and AIDS, UNITAID, UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO) today announced an infusion of $50 million aimed at halting mother-to-child transmission of HIV.

23 July 2008 -- WHO welcomes the announcement from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Bloomberg Philanthropies to inject significant new resources into the global fight against tobacco use.

17 July 2008 -- More than 2.5 billion people do not have have access to improved sanitation facilities that hygienically separate human waste from the environment. Nearly half of them practise open defecation, says a new report issued today by the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation.