Bill in Senate to Expand Public Access to Taxpayer-funded Research

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the world’s largest source of funding for biomedical research. Taxpayers provide more than $28 billion annually for the NIH [1], yet only about a third of the research studies are made publicly available in various repositories after a 12-month delay [2]. Lawmakers are trying to change this and the U.S. Senate is currently deliberating a bill that would require all research funded by the NIH to be freely available to the public within 12 months of publication.

10 Reasons to List Your Site in the Highlight HEALTH Web Directory

The Highlight HEALTH Web Directory is my endeavor to catalog and make available health-related websites I find to be informative and useful. The response thus far has been fantastic. Presently, there are 250 listings in over 40 categories. My thanks to everyone who submitted their blog or website.

Novel Gene Suppresses Tumor Growth in Multiple Cancers

A novel gene was discovered recently that suppresses the growth of human tumors in a number of different cancers. The study, published in the journal Nature Medicine, found that the gene HACE1, an acronym for HECT domain and ankyrin repeat containing, E3 ubiquitin protein ligase 1, is able to help cells deal with various forms of stress that cause tumor formation [1].

Health Highlights – September 10th, 2007

Health Highlights is a biweekly summary of particularly interesting articles from credible sources of health and medical information that we follow & read. For a complete list of recommeded sources, see our links page.

Health Highlights
  • The Business of Bottled Water | Think Bigg

    Because bottle water is considered a food, it’s regulated by the FDA. In contrast, tap water is regulated by the EPA. A Natural Resources Defense Council study found that bottled water sold in the U.S. isn’t necessarily cleaner or safer than most tap water. Tabetha at Think Bigg writes a thought-provoking article on the business of bottled water.

  • DNA and Spit Law Enforcement Campaigns | Eye on DNA

    What is it with people spitting at other people? Hsien at Eye on DNA tells us about the spit law enforcement campaign in England. Maybe that’ll make them think twice about spitting!

  • I Could Swear I’ve Read This Post Before | Healthbolt

    New clues regarding deja vu have Sara at Healthbolt saying “I could swear I’ve read this post before.”

  • The Sherpa Silenced | Gene Sherpas: Personalized Medicine and You

    Steve Murphy, a.k.a. the Gene Sherpa, is making an appeal for more Gene Sherpas:

    I am now putting out a plea to all of those who wish to harness genetics for health and longevity, those who wish to have science behind their clinical decision making, those who have a keen business sense and the ethics to make you shudder when you see what is being sold, those who wish to learn more about the future of genetic and medicine.

  • Chocolate Myths | Sciencebase

    David at Sciencebase writes about chocolate and the alkaloids caffeine and theobromine, and also provides a great example of unfounded claims and the importance of scientific evidence and source referencing.

Green Chemistry Mimics the Cellular Process of Drug Synthesis

Two studies were published in the September 2007 issue of Nature Chemical Biology demonstrating for the first time that it’s possible to take a complex chain of enzymatic reactions and reconstruct them in vitro (meaning in a test tube) to synthesize a natural product that has therapeutic potential.