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Ethicists Debate New York State's Decision To Pay Egg Donors Who Aid Stem Cell Research
New York state"s decision last month to allow state-funded embryonic stem cell researchers to pay women for donating their eggs had drawn support from many scientists and doctors but fueled debate among some ethicists, Long Island Newsday reports. The state"s Empire State Stem Cell Board said that researchers can pay women up to $10,000 as compensation for their time and the invasive nature of the procedure.Scientists and research advocates say the decision could boost important research into cures of serious diseases while attracting investments and new jobs to the state. Opponents raise ethical concerns about using taxpayer money for research that some people find morally objectionable. Some also contend that payment might exploit low-income women, according to Newsday. The National Academy of Sciences and NIH do not permit payments to research participants beyond reimbursement.Thomas Berg -- director of the Westchester Institute for Ethics and the Human Person and a Roman Catholic priest opposed to embryonic stem cell research -- cast the sole dissenting vote in the stem cell board"s decision. Berg said the board ignored his suggestions to open the discussion to the public. However, Samuel Packer -- a member of the board and chair emeritus at the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System"s Department of Ophthalmology -- said the decision was made during a public meeting following a "long, lively debate." Packer said, "At some point the dissenting voice can"t stop the progress of science or anything else in society." He added, "There is a direct link between having better eggs and doing better research" (Ochs, Long Island Newsday, 7/9).
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What Is Diphtheria? What Causes Diphtheria?
Diphtheria is a bacterial infection in the upper respiratory tract. Typically it is characterized by sore throat, swollen neck glands, high temperature and breathing difficulties. Through means of successful immunization diphtheria is now very rare in the United States and Europe. However it"s still common in countries where immunization programs are not an integral part of standard public health care. It is a potentially fatal disease with an estimated 5-10% fatality rate. In children under 5 and adults over 40 the fatality rate may sometimes reach 20%.
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Hospitals Treating Wealthy Foreigners To Assure Cash Flows
International patients spending $3 billion a year on care in the United States are helping fund a gap for hospitals waiting with bated breath to see how health care reform will affect them, Marketplace reports.
Endocrinology

Scientists Develop Mathematical Model To Predict The Immune Response To Influenza

Researchers at the University of Rochester have developed a mathematical model to predict immune responses to infection with influenza A viruses, including novel viruses such as the emergent 2009 influenza A (H1N1). This model examines the contributions of specific sets of immune cells in fighting influenza A virus. The model also helps predict when during the immune response to viral infection antiviral therapy would be most effective. The project was conducted by investigators funded through the Modeling Immunity for Biodefense program, a program established in 2005 by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, to improve preparedness for emerging and re-emerging pathogens. When an individual is infected by a virus, a network of immune cells becomes immediately engaged, taking up viral particles and presenting pieces of the virus - antigens - to specialized white blood cells, thereby initiating a virus-specific response. The responding cells include T cells - which either directly attack and eliminate virus-infected cells or help other immune cells fight the virus - as well as B cells, which produce antibodies that bind and neutralize the virus. The mathematical model developed by the research team generates immune response scenarios reflecting multiple variables, including the pathogenicity of the virus, numbers of responding B and T cells and function of antigen-presenting cells, in the lungs and lymph nodes. Their model suggests that prolonged viral infection limits the production of T cells and inhibits antigen presentation to immune cells. Confirming previous findings, the mathematical model predicts that antiviral therapy is most effective in reducing the spread of the virus when given within two days after infection. The research team tested the accuracy of their model in mice infected with influenza A virus. They next plan to apply the model to human populations and continue to improve the model as more data become available. In addition to the investigators in Rochester, NIAID supports three additional laboratories across the United States as part of the Modeling Immunity for Biodefense program. These scientists are conducting immune modeling research with the goal of developing models to simulate host immune responses to infections or vaccination in order to better treat and prevent diseases affecting millions of people, such as seasonal flu and tuberculosis. Article: HY Lee et al. Simulation and prediction of the adaptive immune response to influenza A virus infection. Journal of Virology. DOI: 10.1128/JVI.00098-09. Who: Timothy A. Gondrç©-Lewis, Ph.D., Program Officer, Immunoregulation Section, Basic Immunology Branch, NIAID Division of Allergy, Immunology and Transplantation. Julie Wu NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases


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