Know your status
Free, confidential HIV testing for World AIDS Day
Nov. 23,
2009 -- In conjunction with World AIDS Day, theSchool of Medicine's Infectious Diseases Clinic will offer free, confidential HIV testing Monday, Nov. 30 - Thursday, Dec. 3, from 9 am - 4 pm. No appointment is necessary. Participants will receive a rapid HIV test using a finger prick to obtain a drop of blood. Results will be available 20 minutes after testing.
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Reassuring results
Against expectations, genetic variation does not alter asthma treatment response
Nov. 19,
2009 -- Studies have suggested that asthma patients with a specific genetic variation might not respond as well to certain treatments as those with a different variation. But a new study in this week's edition of The Lancet shows that patients with either variation respond to combination treatment, and that this treatment should be continued, School of Medicine researchers report.
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DNA cornucopia
Amaizeing: Corn genome decoded
Nov. 19,
2009 --
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| Iowa State |
In recent years, scientists have decoded the DNA of humans and a menagerie of creatures but none with genes as complex as a stalk of corn, the latest genome to be unraveled. A team of scientists led by The Genome Center at the School of Medicine published the completed corn genome in the Nov. 20 journal Science, an accomplishment that will speed efforts to develop better crop varieties to meet the world's growing demands for food, livestock feed and fuel.
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No lingering effects
Surgery not linked to memory problems in older patients
Nov. 18,
2009 -- For years, it has been widely assumed that older adults may experience memory loss and other cognitive problems following surgery. But a new study by School of Medicine researchers questions that assumption. In the 575 patients they studied, the investigators did not detect any long-term cognitive declines attributable to surgery.
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Flu fight
Recovery act funds new flu drug discovery center at Washington University
Nov. 16,
2009 -- Scientists at the School of Medicine are investigating a new way to fight the flu. With funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, they will establish a Drug Discovery Center to identify compounds that enhance the body's natural virus-killing mechanisms to overcome the flu.
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Call to action
CDC invests in preventative health care for Hispanics at home and in Latin America
Nov. 12,
2009 -- The Prevention Research Center (PRC) in St. Louis is launching a multinational research project focused on preventing the leading causes of death in Hispanics in the United States and Latin America.
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Microbial menagerie
Junk food binge alters community of microbes in the gut in less than a day
Nov. 11,
2009 -- Switching from a low-fat, plant-based diet to one high in fat and sugar alters the collection of microbes living in the gut in less than a day, with obesity-linked microbes suddenly thriving, according to new research at the School of Medicine. The study was based on transplants of human intestinal microbes into germ-free mice.
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Improved treatment
High-precision radiation therapy improves cervical cancer outcomes
Nov. 10,
2009 -- School of Medicine researhers have shown that highly targeted radiation therapy improves survival and lessens treatment-related complications in cervical cancer patients. The technique, called intensity-modulated radiation therapy, is widely accepted for treating many cancers of the pelvic region, head and neck, and central nervous system, but its for cervical cancer is not as common.
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Call to action
CDC invests in preventative health care for Hispanics at home and in Latin America
Nov. 5,
2009 -- The Prevention Research Center (PRC) in St. Louis is launching a multinational research project focused on preventing the leading causes of death in Hispanics in the United States and Latin America.
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Scienctists' network
Stimulus grant establishes 'Facebook for scientists'
Nov. 4,
2009 -- The School of Medicine will be one of seven institutions creating a new national network for sharing information between scientists. A $12.2 million grant from National Center for Research Resources (NCRR) will establish the network, which has been described as "Facebook for scientists."
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Medical News
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