http://http://www.kentucky.com/512/index.xml News, sports, and entertainment from Kentucky.com en-us Copyright 2009 Kentucky.com Health & Science - Wire 60 Mon, 06 Jul 2009 18:32:02 EDT http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss McClatchy Interactive's Workbench interactive-ops@herald-leader.com http://www.kentucky.com/512/story/854326.html http://www.kentucky.com/512/story/854326.html Mon, 06 Jul 2009 15:49 EDT
In most emergency rooms, the doctor would grill Mom: Has he ever been X-rayed? Do you remember what it showed? But in the new all-digital Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, doctors just clicked on a COW - a "computer on wheels" that rolls to each patient's side. Up popped every test and X-ray the 6-month-old has ever had.

This is the eerily paperless hospital of the future, what the "electronic medical record" that President Barack Obama insists will transform what health care looks like.

No chart full of doctors' scribbles hanging on the bed. No hauling around envelopes full of X-rays. No discharge with a prescription slip. Even the classic ER patient list has changed from the white-board of TV-drama fame to a giant computer screen.

By the best count, only 1.5 percent of the nation's roughly 6,000 hospitals use a comprehensive electronic record.]]> http://www.kentucky.com/512/story/854446.html http://www.kentucky.com/512/story/854446.html Mon, 06 Jul 2009 17:29 EDT
"It's good that we found it before the bad guys," Alessandro Acquisti of Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh said of the method for predicting the numbers.

Acquisti and Ralph Gross report in Tuesday's edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that they were able to make the predictions using data available in public records as well as information such as birthdates cheerfully provided on social networks such as Facebook.

For people born after 1988 - when the government began issuing numbers at birth - the researchers were able to identify, in a single attempt, the first five Social Security digits for 44 percent of individuals. And they got all nine digits for 8.5 percent of those people in fewer than 1,000 attempts.

For smaller states their accuracy was considerably higher than in larger ones.]]> http://www.kentucky.com/512/story/853709.html http://www.kentucky.com/512/story/853709.html Mon, 06 Jul 2009 14:18 EDT
Slice, a shape analysis researcher, said the narrow body, wide-eyed circular headlights, tall windshield and curve of the bug's hood match the facial features of a smiling woman or child.

"This is the classic cute car - not dominant, not aggressive," said Slice, an associate professor of scientific computing at FSU. "I don't think anyone could be mean to someone else in a Volkswagen Beetle."

Slice and fellow researchers at Austria's Vienna University, where he's a guest professor, are exploring the widely held belief that cars project personalities because they look like human faces when viewed head-on.

Cartoonists, for instance, long have drawn anthropomorphic cars with toothy grilles that grinned or frowned and headlights that winked or blinked. The creators of the recent animated film "Cars," though, used windshields for eyes. They were afraid headlight peepers would have given racer Lightning McQueen and other denizens of Radiator Springs a snakelike appearance.]]> http://www.kentucky.com/512/story/854338.html http://www.kentucky.com/512/story/854338.html Mon, 06 Jul 2009 18:29 EDT
The biggest stones extracted from the quarry would have measured three yards (meters) long, two yards (meters) across, and two yards (meters) high.

The archaeologists said the size of the stones indicates they could have been used in the construction of the Temple compound, including the Western Wall, a retaining wall that remains intact and is a Jewish shrine.

"The dimensions of the stones that were produced in the quarry that was revealed are suitable for the Temple walls," said Ofer Sion, the dig's director.

The two-week excavation, which was conducted before construction begins on an apartment complex at the site, also uncovered pottery, coins and what appear to be tools used in the quarry dating to the first century B.C.]]> http://www.kentucky.com/512/story/854197.html http://www.kentucky.com/512/story/854197.html Mon, 06 Jul 2009 17:18 EDT
President Barack Obama lifted previous restrictions on the field in March, but left it to the National Institutes of Health to decide just what stem cell research was ethically appropriate: Only science that uses cells culled from leftover fertility clinic embryos - ones that otherwise would be thrown away - the agency made clear in draft guidelines.

But the final rules issued Monday settle a big question: Would new ethics requirements disqualify many of the stem cells created over the past decade, even the few funded under the Bush administration's tight limits?

The NIH came up with a compromise, saying it deems those old stem cell lines eligible for government research dollars if scientists can prove they met the spirit of the new ethics standards. Further, NIH will create a registry of qualified stem cells so scientists don't have to second-guess if they're applying to use the right ones.

"We think this is a reasonable compromise to achieve the president's goal of both advancing science while maintaining rigorous ethical standards," acting NIH Director Raynard Kington said Monday. "We believe that judgment is necessary."]]> http://www.kentucky.com/512/story/853814.html http://www.kentucky.com/512/story/853814.html Mon, 06 Jul 2009 15:29 EDT
Ban said the money is needed to ensure that poor countries get some vaccine doses and antivirals if the global epidemic continues to spread. But he could not provide exact details on how the $1 billion would be spent.

"The funding has not been flowing as we have been expecting," Ban told reporters. "We are now mobilizing all resources possible."

Since the World Health Organization declared swine flu to be a pandemic, or global epidemic, last month, experts have worried about the virus' impact on developing countries.

For the moment, swine flu is mild and most people recover without needing treatment. But the virus could have a more devastating impact in countries where populations are fighting other health problems like AIDS, pneumonia, malaria and tuberculosis.]]> http://www.kentucky.com/512/story/854422.html http://www.kentucky.com/512/story/854422.html Mon, 06 Jul 2009 17:03 EDT
No human therapist is involved. The Internet software gives advice, even specific bedtimes, based on users' sleep diaries. Patients learn better sleep habits - like avoiding daytime naps - through stories, quizzes and games.

"This is a very interactive, tailored, personalized program," said study co-author Frances Thorndike of the University of Virginia Health System, who helped design the software, called Sleep Healthy Using the Internet, or SHUTi.

Such software could one day be a low-cost alternative for some patients, Thorndike said. And it could be the only non-drug option for people who live in areas without trained specialists, she said.

Prior research has shown face-to-face cognitive behavioral therapy can have long-lasting results for insomniacs without the side effects of medication. The SHUTi program is based on that style of therapy, which helps patients change thinking patterns that contribute to poor sleep.]]> http://www.kentucky.com/512/story/852987.html http://www.kentucky.com/512/story/852987.html Sun, 05 Jul 2009 07:34 EDT
The male calf - so far without a name - was born in Sydney's Taronga Zoo early Saturday and was healthy and generating many curious responses from among its herd, zoo officials said.

The calf was born to Thong Dee, one of a group of elephants brought to the zoo from Thailand in 2006 after logging camps were closed and there was no work for them at tourist operations in the country.

"Thong Dee's maternal instincts are kicking in, and she's being very protective of the newborn," elephant keeper Kat wrote on a zoo weblog announcing the birth. "The little calf is suckling and standing close to mum, but getting a bit wobbly."

In another post, an unidentified keeper said: "The other cows all are all curious. They're reaching into Thong Dee's pen to try to touch the little elephant with their trunks. They even look worried if the calf makes a little sound."]]> http://www.kentucky.com/512/story/852304.html http://www.kentucky.com/512/story/852304.html Sat, 04 Jul 2009 15:41 EDT
The concept has been enshrined in Europe for generations. Health systems are built so inclusive that even illegal immigrants are entitled to free treatment beyond just emergency care. Europeans have some of the world's best hospitals and have made great strides in fighting problems like obesity and heart disease.

But the system is far from perfect.

In Britain, France, Switzerland and elsewhere, public health systems have become political punching bags for opposition parties, costs have skyrocketed and in some cases, patients have needlessly suffered and died.

Obama has pointedly said he does not want to bring European-style health care to the U.S. and that he intends to introduce a government-run plan to compete with private insurance, not replace it.]]> http://www.kentucky.com/512/story/850964.html http://www.kentucky.com/512/story/850964.html Fri, 03 Jul 2009 00:46 EDT
Kristen Diane Parker faces criminal charges for allegedly making the swaps while working at Audubon Ambulatory Surgery Center in Colorado Springs and Rose Medical Center in Denver.

Authorities say Parker admitted to changing out syringes containing a saline solution with ones filled with the painkiller Fentanyl. Parker injected herself with the drug, according to a complaint filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Denver.

An affidavit by Mary F. LaFrance, an investigator for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, says at least nine surgery patients at Rose have tested positive for hepatitis C, which is incurable. About 6,000 patients are being advised they may have been exposed and need to be tested.

Hepatitis C is a blood-borne disease that can cause serious liver problems, including cirrhosis or liver cancer. The illness is treatable, but there is no cure. Symptoms can include nausea, diarrhea, fatigue, pain and jaundice.]]> http://www.kentucky.com/512/story/851195.html http://www.kentucky.com/512/story/851195.html Fri, 03 Jul 2009 07:36 EDT
The beast was a 1,100 pound (500 kilogram) meat-eating predator with three slashing claws on each of its powerful forelimbs that stalked the Outback 98 million years ago, researchers said in a report published Friday.

Fossilized remnants of its limb bones, ribs, jaw and fangs were found - along with bones of two other new species of gigantic, long-necked herbivores weighing up to 22 tons (20 metric tons) - in Queensland state over the past three years.

The discovery, analyzed in a 51-page report published in the peer-reviewed online science journal PLoS ONE, was the first substantial find of large dinosaurs in Australia to be revealed in 28 years.

Paleontologists have described Australia as new frontier in vertebrate paleontology and an untapped resource in the world's understanding of the dinosaur age because so few fossils have been found there. This is largely because the relatively flat continent has long been geologically stable. The movement of tectonic plates in other continents has forced layers of rock bearing fossils tens of millions of years old to the surface making them easier to find.]]> http://www.kentucky.com/512/story/850418.html http://www.kentucky.com/512/story/850418.html Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:11 EDT
The warming of the tropical Pacific Ocean has long been known to affect weather around the world, but researchers now say it may come in two forms with different impacts.

The traditional El Nino tends to reduce the number of Atlantic hurricanes. But a form Georgia Tech scientists call El Nino Modoki can lead to more hurricanes than usual in the Atlantic Ocean. Modoki, from Japanese, refers to something that is "similar but different."

The traditional El Nino involves a periodic warming of the water in the eastern part of the tropical Pacific. Indeed, it was first noticed by Peruvian fishermen, who named it after the baby Jesus because it tended to first appear around Christmastime.

In El Nino Modoki, on the other hand, the warming occurs farther to the west, in the central Pacific.]]> http://www.kentucky.com/512/story/850267.html http://www.kentucky.com/512/story/850267.html Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:56 EDT
Holder spokesman Matthew Miller said the attorney general cracked his molar Wednesday night and went to a dentist in pain in the morning. Miller said the dentist told Holder the tooth needed to be removed right away, and he had a 75-minute procedure before being sent home to rest.

Miller said Holder won't be able to fly for several days. He canceled an afternoon trip to Colorado, where he was scheduled to appear at the Aspen Institute for a discussion with CBS "Face the Nation" host Bob Schieffer.

Miller said he did not know how Holder cracked the tooth.]]> http://www.kentucky.com/512/story/850420.html http://www.kentucky.com/512/story/850420.html Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:21 EDT
On average, wild Soay sheep on Scotland's island Hirta are 5 percent smaller today than they were in 1985, according to a team of researchers led by Tim Coulson of Imperial College London.

"The decrease in body size was due to a reduction in growth rates caused, in part, by the changing climate," Coulson said in an interview via e-mail.

Evolution favors the development of large sheep, which can more easily survive harsh winters, Coulson explained. So the researchers became curious about the overall decline in size of the animals on Hirta.

They discovered that as the climate has grown milder, small lambs that would not have survived previous winters were now living to grow up and reproduce.]]> http://www.kentucky.com/512/story/850509.html http://www.kentucky.com/512/story/850509.html Thu, 02 Jul 2009 17:11 EDT
"While the virus is able to bind human receptors, it clearly appears to be restricted," Ram Sasisekharan, lead author of the report, said in a statement.

But flu viruses are known to mutate rapidly, the research team noted, so this one must be watched closely in case it changes to become easier to spread.

Even if it doesn't mutate, it's causing plenty of illness here and abroad already - and vaccine makers are working "at full speed" to develop shots for use in the fall if the government deems it enough of a threat, Dr. Anthony Fauci, infectious disease director of the National Institutes of Health, said Thursday.

Within a few weeks, Fauci expects to receive the first test batches for government-led studies in volunteers to see if the vaccine triggers signs of immune protection, at what dose and is safe.]]> http://www.kentucky.com/512/story/850241.html http://www.kentucky.com/512/story/850241.html Thu, 02 Jul 2009 17:41 EDT
The study is testing chelation - infusions of a drug that in this case has been removed from the market for safety concerns. A different type of chelation is used to treat lead poisoning.

Findings from the investigation were revealed this week by the U.S. Office for Human Research Protections in a letter to the three medical centers leading the study.

The probe found that several doctors doing the study had been accused of poor practices by state medical boards or involved in insurance fraud, and that at least three are convicted felons. While "concerning," this doesn't prevent them from participating in federal research, the government's letter says.

Safety issues involving the study drug were referred to the federal Food and Drug Administration to investigate.]]> http://www.kentucky.com/512/story/850468.html http://www.kentucky.com/512/story/850468.html Thu, 02 Jul 2009 17:01 EDT
About four out of five of the swine flu deaths to date were adults aged 25 or older, although seven of the most recent deaths were children, according to the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The numbers mark an increase from the 127 deaths and nearly 28,000 confirmed and suspected swine flu cases reported last week.

CDC officials believe those cases - which sought treatment and underwent testing - are just the tip of the iceberg. They estimate more than 1 million Americans have been infected with the virus so far, though many probably had only a mild illness. Swine flu is the predominant flu type circulating currently, with ten states reporting widespread cases. The states are California, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Maine, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Virginia.

The pandemic was first discovered in California in April, but since then a total of more than 77,000 cases have been reported in more than 100 countries, according to the World Health Organization.]]> http://www.kentucky.com/512/story/850404.html http://www.kentucky.com/512/story/850404.html Thu, 02 Jul 2009 20:21 EDT
Douglas is among thousands of people now telling their stories on videos, ads and Web sites on both sides of the health care debate.

He said he was drawn into political advocacy after neighbors in Harpswell, Maine, raised $3,000 toward his hospital bills with a church dinner and collection cans in stores.

Douglas said he may not understand the intricacies of President Barack Obama's top domestic priority, but he knows he wants affordable health care for everyone, so nobody has to beg.

"People aren't standing up to be counted," Douglas said, explaining why he allowed his name to be used in a political YouTube video. "I just hope I can help somebody else."]]> http://www.kentucky.com/512/story/849507.html http://www.kentucky.com/512/story/849507.html Wed, 01 Jul 2009 18:01 EDT
About 65 percent of non-elderly Americans had private insurance in 2008, down from 67 percent the year before, according to preliminary data released Wednesday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"It's bad news," said Kenneth Thorpe, a health policy researcher at Emory University.

In the 1970s and early 1980s, nearly 80 percent of Americans had private coverage, according to CDC officials.

Some experts blamed the faltering economy and corporate decisions to raise health insurance premiums - or do away with employee coverage - as the main drivers of the recent data. They say coverage statistics for 2009 may look even worse.]]> http://www.kentucky.com/512/story/848795.html http://www.kentucky.com/512/story/848795.html Wed, 01 Jul 2009 15:07 EDT
Last month, potentially dangerous leaks of hydrogen gas thwarted back-to-back launch attempts.

"Nothing in this business is ever guaranteed, but this one I feel really good about, that we got that problem licked and we're not going to see a ... leak again on the next launch attempt," said Mike Moses, a launch manager.

"And there's wood around somewhere here I can knock on," he said, tapping the news conference table.

Because of the successful test, NASA is now shooting for a launch attempt July 11. Endeavour is set to deliver one last piece of a Japanese space station lab.]]>