EurekAlert! - Policy and Ethics

AGA honors distinguished clinicians, researchers and educators with prestigious recognition awards

Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(American Gastroenterological Association) Each year, the American Gastroenterological Association recognizes several individuals for their outstanding contributions and achievements in gastroenterology through its esteemed recognition awards.

More than one-third of Texas women still receive unnecessary breast biopsy surgery

Fri, 17 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston) Many women in Texas who are found to have an abnormality on routine mammogram or discover a lump in one of their breasts end up having an old-fashioned surgical biopsy to find out whether the breast abnormality is malignant. Since 2001, national expert panels have recommended that the first course of action for women with breast lumps or masses should be minimally invasive biopsy.

Beer-industry advertising guidelines: Rating panels may help industry assess itself

Fri, 17 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research) The alcohol industry has developed and regulates its own guidelines regarding advertising. A new study has investigated the ability of panels to find consensus around code violations.Results indicate that a modified Delphi Technique may enhance the ability of regulatory agencies to monitor the content of alcohol-beverage advertising.

New FASEB analysis documents impact of budget cuts on biomedical research

Thu, 16 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology) The Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology released a new analysis of National Institutes of Health funding trends highlighting the devastating impact of sequestration on the nation's capacity to support critical research.

FASEB speaks out in support of peer review and basic research in letter to House Science Committee

Thu, 16 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology) Yesterday, the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) President Judith Bond, Ph.D., sent a letter to House Science Committee Chairman Lamar Smith and Ranking Member Eddie Bernice Johnson expressing FASEB's strong opposition to the proposed "High Quality Research Act."

Mathematicians analyze social divisions using cell phone data

Thu, 16 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(University of California - San Diego) Human society fractures along lines defined by politics, religion, ethnicity, and perhaps most fundamentally, language. Although these differences contribute to the great variety of human lives, the partitions they create can lead to conflict and strife, impeding efforts toward social justice and economic development. David Meyer, a mathematician at UC San Diego, has developed a new way of understanding how characteristics like ethnicity and religion coincide to define communities and ultimately influence our actions.

Amazon and Apple fence off their e-book markets

Thu, 16 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(Johannes Gutenberg Universitaet Mainz) There are no technical or functional reasons for Amazon and Apple to fence off their e-book worlds using proprietary e-book formats. This is the result of a research study handed over today to Neelie Kroes, EU Commissioner for the Digital Agenda.

'One Health' paradigm for the future featured in medical school textbook

Thu, 16 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(Wildlife Conservation Society) In the new medical textbook, Jekel's Epidemiology, Biostatistics, Preventive Medicine, and Public Health (Elsevier, 2013), Wildlife Conservation Society veterinarian and Director of Health Policy, Dr. Steve Osofsky, offers a holistic approach to meeting challenges that result from humanity's ongoing population growth, globalization trends, and unsustainable demand for earth's finite natural resources.

European Society of Human Genetics urges caution over use of new genetic sequencing techniques

Thu, 16 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(European Society of Human Genetics) The use of genome-wide analysis, where the entirety of an individual's DNA is examined to look for the genomic mutations or variants which can cause health problems is a massively useful technology for diagnosing disease. However, it can also pose major ethical problems if used incorrectly, say new recommendations from the European Society of Human Genetics published on line today (16 May 2013) in the European Journal of Human Genetics.

Global health policy fails to address burden of disease on men

Thu, 16 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(University College London) Men experience a higher burden of disease and lower life expectancy than women, but policies focusing on the health needs of men are notably absent from the strategies of global health organizations, according to a Viewpoint article in this week's Lancet.

Returning genetic incidental findings without patient consent violates basic rights

Thu, 16 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(University of Minnesota) In a paper to be published in Science May 16 online ahead of print, authors Susan M. Wolf, J.D. (University of Minnesota), George J. Annas, J.D., M.P.H. (Boston University), and Sherman Elias, M.D. (Northwestern University) push back against recent ACMG recommendations, and offer compelling reasons why patient autonomy must remain firmly in place as science advances.

Ethicists provide framework supporting new recommendations on reporting incidental findings in gene sequencing

Thu, 16 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(Baylor College of Medicine) In a paper published in Science Express, a group of experts led by bioethicists in the Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy at Baylor College of Medicine provide a framework for the new American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics recommendations on reporting incidental findings in clinical exome and genome sequencing.

Scientific insurgents say 'Journal Impact Factors' distort science

Thu, 16 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(American Society for Cell Biology) An ad hoc coalition of unlikely insurgents -- scientists, journal editors and publishers, scholarly societies, and research funders across many scientific disciplines -- today posted an international declaration calling on the world scientific community to eliminate the role of the journal impact factor in evaluating research for funding, hiring, promotion, or institutional effectiveness.

Canada must addess real climate-change challenge

Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(University of Toronto) To reach Canada's goal of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to 17 per cent below the 2005 level by the year 2020, federal and provincial governments must reach agreement on what portion of the total GHG reduction will be provided by each province say researchers from the University of Toronto's School of the Environment.

UIC information specialists ease switch to new healthcare codes

Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(University of Illinois at Chicago) University of Illinois at Chicago researchers have developed a website that walks healthcare providers through the challenging transition from the current International Classification of Diseases -- ICD-9 -- to the new ICD-10.

Penn Medicine study finds broad support for rationing of some types of cancer care

Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine) The majority of cancer doctors, patients, and members of the general public support cutting health care costs by refusing to pay for drugs that don't improve survival or quality of life, according to results of a new study that will be presented by researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania during the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago in early June.

Emotional response to climate change influences whether we seek or avoid further information

Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(University at Buffalo) Because information about climate change is ubiquitous in the media, researchers at the University at Buffalo and the University of Texas, Austin, looked at why many Americans know so little about its causes and why many are not interested in finding out more. Their study was published in the April 2013 issue of Science Communication.

Community Catalyst responds to ADA oral health campaign

Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(Burness Communications) "Lack of access to dental care in the United States has reached epic proportions. Dental disease is the number one chronic illness affecting children -- more common than asthma. The Institute of Medicine clearly states that the current dental delivery system doesn't work for a third of the people in the US.

Continued world food supply depends on character, virtuous leadership, authors say

Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(Texas A&M AgriLife Communications) If the world's food supply and natural resources are to be sustained for future generations, visionary leadership is a must. And what better model to look to than the virtues known since antiquity? That's the gist of a new book, "Leadership in Agriculture: Case Studies for a New Generation."

European Research Infrastructures help to solve air quality issues

Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(Leibniz-Institut für Troposphärenforschung) Scientists have advocated for tightening the Air Quality Directive and expand research on air quality and climate change. Only appropriate investments in research can provide a solid basis for decision making in these areas that have major health and economic consequences for Europe's citizens. In 2013, the European Commission's air policy is reviewed, with a focus on finding ways to improve the quality of the air Europeans breathe.

How teenagers cope with inner-city risks

Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(Economic & Social Research Council) With concerns often expressed about youth crime and violence in the UK, researchers have been investigating what young people really think about living in an inner-city neighborhood that has high levels of deprivation, crime and gang activity.

Study reveals scientific consensus on anthropogenic climate change

Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(Institute of Physics) A comprehensive analysis of peer-reviewed articles on the topic of global warming and climate change has revealed an overwhelming consensus among scientists that recent warming is human-caused.

Study finds disagreement on the role of primary care nurse practitioners

Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(Massachusetts General Hospital) A study published in the May 16 New England Journal of Medicine finds that, while primary care physicians and nurse practitioners for the most part agreed with Institute of Medicine recommendations that advance practice nurses "be able to practice to the full extent of their education and training," they significantly disagreed about some proposed changes to the scope of nurse practitioners' responsibilities.

Collecting DNA for human rights: How to help while safeguarding privacy

Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(Cell Press) DNA databases might help identify victims of crime and human trafficking, but how do we safeguard the personal privacy of innocent victims and family members? A new report online May 15 in the Cell Press journal Trends in Genetics identifies a number of key challenges to consider as experts develop such programs.

Frog once imported for pregnancy testing brought deadly amphibian disease to US, study suggests

Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(San Francisco State University) African frogs, originally imported for early 20th century pregnancy tests, carried a deadly amphibian disease to the US, according to findings published in PLOS ONE. African Clawed Frogs have long been suspected of spreading a harmful fungus called Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis. The earliest known case of the fungus was found in these frogs in their native South Africa. Now scientists have found the first evidence of the disease among introduced feral populations in the US.