Recent News

By Region: North America

Doctors’ group declares drug shortages national health emergency

(Telegram.com) Growing shortages of cancer drugs and other life-saving medicines are a national public health emergency, the American Medical Association declared yesterday. The nation’s largest lobby group of doctors voted to ratchet up the tone of a resolution prompted by shortages of anesthetics, cardiovascular drugs such as epinephrine and cancer treatments including Johnson & Johnson’s Read More »

November 17, 2011
| Filed under North America, Policy & Initiatives, and Public Health
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Assistant Secretary Thomas M. Countryman Travels to Argentina and Brazil

(US Department of State) Assistant Secretary of State for International Security and Nonproliferation, Thomas Countryman, is on travel to Argentina and Brazil from November 15 to 18 to meet with senior government officials for bilateral discussions on nonproliferation issues. A key focus of this trip is the upcoming Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) Review Conference, which Read More »

November 17, 2011
| Filed under North America, South America, Biological Weapons, International, and Policy & Initiatives
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Alarming pattern of antibiotic use in the southeastern United States

(EurekAlert!) New research suggests a pattern of outpatient antibiotic overuse in parts of the United States — particularly in the Southeast — a problem that could accelerate the rate at which these powerful drugs are rendered useless, according to Extending the Cure, a project of the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy.

November 17, 2011
| Filed under North America, Public Health, and Research
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Opinion: The Dark Side of Science

(The Scientist) Within the burgeoning field of synthetic biology, teams of biologists and engineers are making great strides in understanding the cell and its functioning. (See The Scientist’s recent feature on the topic.) However, there is more that should be discussed than the triumphs. There are also the dark purposes to which science (and synthetic Read More »

November 17, 2011
| Filed under North America, Biotechnology, and Research
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Evidence supports ban on growth promotion use of antibiotics in farming

(EurekAlert!) Tufts University researchers zero in on the controversial, non-therapeutic use of antibiotics in food animals and fish farming as a cause of antibiotic resistance in people. There is overwhelming evidence that this overuse of antibiotics affects the environment and humans and they advocate for stricter regulation of the practice.