Efforts to require flu shots for health workers in order to protect vulnerable patients are being abandoned by some major health systems because of legal challenges and vaccine shortages.Requiring flu shots is an exception in the health care industry, where

A new national biobanking initiative is to be established after the Dutch government awarded €22.5m funding for the Biobanking and Biomolecular Resources Infrastructure Netherlands (BBMRI-NL), a network including several academic and other research bodies. The initiative is intended to integrate

Britain is using genetic tests on some African asylum seekers in an effort to catch those who are lying about their nationality, drawing criticism from scientists and provoking outrage from rights groups. (The Associated Press)

Q: Does end-of-life care prolong life or does it prolong suffering? Should it be a part of health-care reform? (Washington Post)

The two men were accused of mediating between people willing to sell organs and those awaiting transplants, and of arranging to have the operations done abroad, police superintendent Gilad Bahat told public radio. (Khaleej Times Online)

Traditionally, treatment for severe second-degree burns consists of adding insult to injury: cutting a swath of skin from another site on the same patient in order to graft it over the burn. The process works, but causes more pain for

A telemedicine system based on a modified version of the Bluetooth wireless protocol can transfer patient data, such as medical images from patient to the healthcare provider's mobile device for patient assessment almost four times as fast as conventional Bluetooth

Nearly a third of Americans who die are in the hospital at the time and their last treatments cost the U.S. economy $20 billion, according to a report released on Wednesday. (Reuters)

The same genes that are chemically altered during normal cell differentiation, as well as when normal cells become cancer cells, are also changed in stem cells that scientists derive from adult cells, according to new research from Johns Hopkins and

Several gene-synthesis companies yesterday finalized a code of conduct that outlines how to screen orders for synthetic DNA that could be used for terrorist activities. (Nature News)

Scientists in Belgium have successfully differentiated human embryonic stem cells (hESC) into major cell types of lung epithelial tissue using a convenient air-liquid interface. The technique, published in BioMed Central's open access journal Respiratory Research, could provide an alternative to

A U.S. District Court judge ruled Monday that a gene patent lawsuit filed against the Patent and Trademark Office could move forward. At issue are patents exclusively licensed by Myriad Genetics for the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. Mutations of the

A new European initiative has formed for the purpose of promoting the use of diagnostics for personalised medicine. The European Personalised Medicine Diagnostics Association (EPEMED) is a non-profit venture that hopes to recruit commercial and academic research bodies and patient

The state Supreme Court will decide if a law raising burden of proof in emergency care lawsuits is constitutional. Doctors say reversal would hurt access. (American Medical News)

A 64-year-old woman with recurrent major depression has been seeing a community psychiatrist for about a year. She has had a moderately good response to an antidepressant and monthly supportive therapy. At her most recent visit, the patient was visibly