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Testing For Norovirus And Enterovirus Is Becoming Increasingly Important And Commonplace
High profile outbreaks associated with the viruses have kept EMSL Analytical scientists busy.
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2009 World Stem Cell Summit Co-Sponsored By Johns Hopkins Medicine
WHAT: Johns Hopkins Medicine is co-sponsoring the 2009 World Stem Cell Summit to be held in Baltimore this September. http://www.worldstemcellsummit.com/index.html
News of the day
NOW Election Highlights Debate Over Strategy For Future Of Feminist Movement
The AP/Kansas City Star on Sunday examined how the upcoming election for the next president of the National Organization for Women has brought to the forefront a debate over how the feminist movement should define itself moving forward. NOW President Kim Gandy is stepping down after eight years in which she led the group in opposition to many of former President George W. Bush"s policies. Running to replace her are Latifa Lyles, a 33-year-old who serves as a vice president to Gandy, and Terry O"Neill, a 56-year-old who served as NOW"s vice president for membership from 2001 to 2005. Lyles, who is black, would be NOW"s youngest president while O"Neill, who is white, would be its oldest to start a term. According to the AP/Star, the election represents "both an unusual clash of generations and an opportunity for activists to confront some of the challenges facing the feminist movement." The election will be held at NOW"s conference in Indianapolis this weekend.The candidates share the goals of ensuring that women"s needs are represented in health care reform and economic recovery efforts, and they both support working to make abortion and birth control more accessible. Lyles said she contrasts with NOW"s current membership, which is mostly white and older than age 40. Lyles believes she could help give the organization a more diverse, younger image and help encourage participation from a broader range of women. "The profile of NOW is just as important as the work we do," she said, adding, "There are a lot of antiquated notions about what feminism is." Gandy, who has endorsed Lyles, said, "It"s hard to ignore the fact there"s been a generational shift in the country, and an organization that doesn"t recognize that is living in the past." She added that Lyles" "youth is not a detriment, but an advantage. ... She"ll take NOW to a different level." Jessica Valenti, a prominent younger feminist and founder of the blog Feministing, said, "This could be the moment where NOW becomes super-relevant to the feminist movement again."O"Neill said she would focus on grassroots organizing and membership recruitment. She said that "even with a friend in the White House and a lot of friends in the Congress, it"s going to take well-organized, grassroots movement to advance our agenda." O"Neill added, "I keep hearing "Terry, I want to see more activism in my community,"" adding, "The press releases, the media exposure, invitations to the White House -- these are excellent things, but they"re not enough. The grass roots are not personally engaged." Former NOW President Patricia Ireland, who supports O"Neill, said, "There is a role that requires us to take unpopular stands and push on our friends. That"s what I think [O"Neill] really gets. She"s the one I believe will be very willing to use a wide array of tactics -- not just traditional letters and e-mails, but also engage in civil disobedience, organize fasts, be at some congressman"s district office" (Crary, AP/Kansas City Star, 6/14).
Nutrition

New Legislation Seeks To Boost Participation In Clinical Trials For Rare Diseases

New legislation introduced would allow patients with rare diseases to participate in clinical drug studies without losing their eligibility for government healthcare coverage. The "Improve Access to Clinical Trials Act" is co-sponsored by Representatives Edward J. Markey (D-MA) and Cliff Stearns (R-FL) and nearly 30 members of the House of Representatives. Current law prevents many people who receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) from accepting research compensation because it would make them ineligible to continue receiving government medical benefits. This financial penalty prevents significant numbers of people with rare diseases from participating in clinical studies. Researchers developing drugs to treat rare diseases struggle to recruit participants for clinical trials because of limited patient populations. This is particularly true for cystic fibrosis (CF). More than 30 promising CF drugs are in development, yet only about 30,000 people in the United States have this life-threatening, genetic disease. "We are grateful to Representatives Edward Markey and Cliff Stearns for introducing this important bill that allows more people with rare diseases - including cystic fibrosis - to participate in clinical trials," said Robert J. Beall, Ph.D., president and CEO of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. "Cystic fibrosis is a devastating disease and this new legislation clears the way for promising drugs to move more swiftly from the research phase into the hands of people who need them." Said Rep Markey, "Clinical research is critical to our progress towards curing rare diseases such as cystic fibrosis, especially at a time of tremendous opportunity and hope in medical research. Current SSI eligibility rules are forcing patients to choose between participating in important clinical trials and keeping their SSI benefits - a cruel choice no one should ever have to make." He added, "The bi-partisan Improving Access to Clinical Trials Act will encourage patients suffering from rare diseases to participate in promising clinical research that may lead to cures, better treatments, and ultimately, saved lives, without having to worry that they could lose the SSI benefits they depend on." "As the Co-Chair of the Congressional Cystic Fibrosis Caucus, I am honored to be the lead Republican sponsor of this legislation, which will help ensure that individuals suffering from rare and life-threatening diseases, such as cystic cibrosis, can participate in vital clinical trials that will lead to new treatments and cures for these diseases," said Rep. Stearns. Fifty years ago, there were no drugs for people with CF and those with the disease rarely lived to attend elementary school. Today, because of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation"s focus on innovative and aggressive research, there are more than 30 potential therapies in development, and the median life expectancy is higher than 37 years. Cystic Fibrosis Foundation


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