(Press-News.org) The Lancet today [Monday 30 June] publishes a new Review from the Countdown to 2015 collaboration, summarising results from the Countdown 2014 report, examining the data supporting evidence-based decisions in women's and children's health, describing elements of the Countdown process that might inform ongoing efforts to hold the world to account for progress, and listing concrete steps that can be taken now to ensure continued progress for women and children.
The Review is published to coincide with the 2014 Partners' Forum, held in Johannesburg, South Africa from June 30 – July 1, 2014, where global health professionals, policy makers, business leaders, advocates and youth leaders will gather to review progress, identify factors for success, and agree on commitments for action to help women, newborns, children and adolescents survive and thrive.
At the same time, The Lancet also publishes a new Countdown to 2015 country case study on maternal mortality in Bangladesh. Countdown is engaging in a series of country case studies to explore in-depth how countries have achieved or failed to achieve progress in women's and children's health, and this study is thought to be the first systematic presentation of evidence for a low-income or middle-income country explaining the impact of health and non-health factors on maternal mortality at a national scale.
INFORMATION:
Countdown to 2015 and beyond: Fulfilling the health agenda for women and children
2014-06-30
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Watching individual neurons respond to magnetic therapy
2014-06-29
DURHAM, N.C. -- Engineers and neuroscientists at Duke University have developed a method to measure the response of an individual neuron to transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) of the brain. The advance will help researchers understand the underlying physiological effects of TMS -- a procedure used to treat psychiatric disorders -- and optimize its use as a therapeutic treatment.
TMS uses magnetic fields created by electric currents running through a wire coil to induce neural activity in the brain. With the flip of a switch, researchers can cause a hand to move or ...
A single gene separates aggressive and non-aggressive lymphatic system cancer
2014-06-29
WASHINGTON — For a rare form of cancer called thymoma, researchers have discovered a single gene defining the difference between a fast-growing tumor requiring aggressive treatment and a slow-growing tumor that doesn't require extensive therapy.
Thymoma is a cancer derived from the epithelial cells of the thymus, an organ critical to the lymphatic system where T-cells, or so-called "killer cells," mature. Very little is known about the role of the gene mutation GTF2l in human tumors, but scientists from Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center and the National Cancer ...
High CO2 levels cause warming in the tropics
2014-06-29
The impact of the greenhouse gas CO2 on the Earth's temperature is well established by climate models and temperature records over the past 100 years, as well as coupled records of carbon dioxide concentration and temperature throughout Earth history. However, past temperature records have suggested that warming is largely confined to mid-to-high latitudes, especially the poles, whereas tropical temperatures appear to be relatively stable: the tropical thermostat model.
The new results, published today in Nature Geoscience, contradict those previous studies and indicate ...
Single-pixel 'multiplex' captures elusive terahertz images
2014-06-29
CHESTNUT HILL, MA (June 29, 2014) – A novel metamaterial enables a fast, efficient and high-fidelity terahertz radiation imaging system capable of manipulating the stubborn electromagnetic waves, advancing a technology with potential applications in medical and security imaging, a team led by Boston College researchers reports in the online edition of the journal Nature Photonics.
The team reports it developed a "multiplex" tunable spatial light modulator (SLM) that uses a series of filter-like "masks" to retrieve multiple samples of a terahertz (THz) scene, which are ...
Marine bacteria are natural source of chemical fire retardants
2014-06-29
Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have discovered a widely distributed group of marine bacteria that produce compounds nearly identical to toxic man-made fire retardants.
Among the chemicals produced by the ocean-dwelling microbes, which have been found in habitats as diverse as sea grasses, marine sediments and corals, is a potent endocrine disruptor that mimics the human body's most active thyroid hormone.
The study is published in the June 29 online issue of Nature Chemical Biology.
"We find it very surprising and a tad alarming ...
NIH-funded researchers extend liver preservation for transplantation
2014-06-29
Researchers have developed a new supercooling technique to increase the amount of time human organs could remain viable outside the body. This study was conducted in rats, and if it succeeds in humans, it would enable a world-wide allocation of donor organs, saving more lives.
The research is supported by National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) and the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease (NIDDK), both parts of the National Institutes of Health.
The first human whole organ transplant 60 years ago—a living kidney ...
Massachusetts General-developed protocol could greatly extend preservation of donor livers
2014-06-29
A system developed by investigators at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Center for Engineering in Medicine allowed successful transplantation of rat livers after preservation for as long as four days, more than tripling the length of time organs currently can be preserved. The team describes their protocol – which combines below-freezing temperatures with the use of two protective solutions and machine perfusion of the organ – in a Nature Medicine paper receiving advance online publication.
"To our knowledge, this is the longest preservation time with subsequent ...
Reconstructing the life history of a single cell
2014-06-29
Researchers have developed new methods to trace the life history of individual cells back to their origins in the fertilised egg. By looking at the copy of the human genome present in healthy cells, they were able to build a picture of each cell's development from the early embryo on its journey to become part of an adult organ.
During the life of an individual, all cells in the body develop mutations, known as somatic mutations, which are not inherited from parents or passed on to offspring. These somatic mutations carry a coded record of the lifetime experiences of ...
Study finds Emperor penguin in peril
2014-06-29
An international team of scientists studying Emperor penguin populations across Antarctica finds the iconic animals in danger of dramatic declines by the end of the century due to climate change. Their study, published today in Nature Climate Change, finds the Emperor penguin "fully deserving of endangered status due to climate change."
The Emperor penguin is currently under consideration for inclusion under the US Endangered Species Act. Criteria to classify species by their extinction risk are based on the global population dynamics.
The study was conducted by lead ...
Noninvasive brain control
2014-06-29
CAMBRIDGE, MA -- Optogenetics, a technology that allows scientists to control brain activity by shining light on neurons, relies on light-sensitive proteins that can suppress or stimulate electrical signals within cells. This technique requires a light source to be implanted in the brain, where it can reach the cells to be controlled.
MIT engineers have now developed the first light-sensitive molecule that enables neurons to be silenced noninvasively, using a light source outside the skull. This makes it possible to do long-term studies without an implanted light source. ...