Researchers have newly identified three genetic regions associated with primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC), the most common autoimmune liver disease, increasing the number of known regions associated with the disorder to 25. The team used a DNA microchip, called Immunochip, to survey more thoroughly regions of the genome known to underlie other autoimmune diseases to discover if they play a role also in PBC susceptibility.
Read more ...
Fast Forward for Biomedical Research
The hundreds of researchers working on the ENCODE project have revealed that much of what has been called 'junk DNA' in the human genome is actually a massive control panel with millions of switches regulating the activity of our genes. Without these switches, genes would not work - and mutations in these regions might lead to human disease.
Read more ...
HL7 Standards Soon to be Free of Charge
Health Level Seven® International (HL7®), the global leader in developing interoperability standards for healthcare IT, announced its decision to make much of its intellectual property (IP), including standards, freely available under licensing terms. The landmark decision represents HL7's commitment to the betterment of healthcare worldwide by ensuring that all stakeholders have equal access to its HIT standards. The new policy is expected to take effect in the first quarter of 2013.
Read more ...
MovingLife Launches a Public Consultation on Roadmaps for mHealth Solutions
The MovingLife project announced the launch of an online public stakeholder consultation on "Roadmaps for the widespread use and broad acceptance of mHealth solutions". The aim of this online consultation is to collect clear and decisive evidence on the most important needs and requirements that must be satisfied in order to facilitate the deployment of mHealth solutions.
Read more ...
Telemonitoring Can Make Cardiac Implant Therapy More Efficient and Cost-Effective
The possibility to monitor patients and their cardiac implants such as pacemakers or defibrillators remotely has the potential to improve the efficiency of Cardiac Implant Electronic Device (CIED) therapy, and make the treatment more cost-effective. Nonetheless, to date, remote monitoring of patients is still not used widely throughout Europe.
Read more ...
European Business to Increase R&D Spending Despite Crisis
Top EU businesses expect their investments in research and development to grow by an average of 4% annually over the period 2012 to 2014, according to a Commission survey of some of Europe's companies that invest the most in R&D. The figures show the importance that these companies place on R&D as a key factor for their future growth and prosperity, despite the current economic difficulties.
Read more ...
Launching a "Social Networking War" Against Cancer
Experts agree that, more than ever before, modern wars will be fought in the cyber zone, targeting an enemy's communications technology to cause untold damage. Now a Tel Aviv University researcher is suggesting that the same tactics should be employed in the battle against one of the body's deadliest enemies - cancer.
Read more ...