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What Is A Virus? What Is A Viral Infection?
A virus (from the Latin virus meaning toxin or poison) is a microscopic organism consisting of genetic material (RNA or DNA) surrounded by a protein, lipid (fat), or glycoprotein coat. Viruses are unique organisms because they cannot reproduce without a host cell. After contacting a host cell, a virus will insert genetic material into the host and take over the host"s functions. The cell, now infected, continues to reproduce, but it reproduces more viral protein and genetic material instead of its usual products. It is this process that earns viruses the classification of "parasite".
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This Time Around, Debate Much Different
Insurance companies, "the industry that gets credit for helping to kill the Clinton administration"s health care overhaul 15 years ago," are now "striking a conciliatory tone as it faces the most serious attempt to overhaul the system since that effort collapsed," CQ Politics reports. With low favorability ratings and Democrats in control of the federal government, "insurers know they aren"t in a good bargaining position" this time around. They have already offered concessions, including providing "insurance in the individual markets to everyone, without regard to who is sick," and not "charging people who are ill higher rates and cut health care costs." But they"ve also been ""careful to structure their offers in such a way that appears significant but does not overpromise." An individual mandate for all Americans and an end to health screening for applicants could offer "a win-win outcome, one that will benefit not just patients but potentially the profits of the industry as well." But "perhaps the biggest motivation for insurers to deal now is that they fear what might happen if they don"t" - the "creation of a government-run plan that would be more attractive to the public and siphon off customers" (Adams, 6/1).
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Zavesca(R) (miglustat) First Treatment Available In UK And Ireland For Rare Progressive Niemann-Pick Type C Disease
Actelion Ltd (SIX: ATLN) announced the launch of Zavesca® (miglustat) in the UK and Republic of Ireland; the first and only licensed treatment available for people with Niemann-Pick type C (NP-C) disease [1]. NP-C is a rare, genetic disease with significant neurological deterioration that can be fatal and affects infants, children and adults [2,3].
Health Insurance

Washington Times Examines Proposed Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative In Obama Budget Plan

The Washington Times recently included a two-part series examining President Obama"s proposed reallocation of abstinence-only sex education funding in his 2010 budget plan. The proposal would redirect funding toward a new Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative that uses comprehensive sex education curriculums. Summaries of the series appear below.~ Part 1: Obama"s budget proposal states that funds for the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative should go to programs that are proven to help delay first sex, increase contraceptive use or reduce teen pregnancy, though a few advocates of comprehensive sex education say such goals are laudable but too narrow, the Times reports. William Smith -- vice president for public policy for the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States -- and James Wagoner -- president of Advocates for Youth -- wrote in a June 17 blog entry that preventing unintended pregnancy among teens is "incredibly important" but that it is "not the only sexual and reproductive health issue facing our nation"s youth." They continued that it would be more beneficial to "expand the scope" of the initiative so it can serve "all young people in all communities, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth, whose needs fall wholly outside of the narrow teen-pregnancy-prevention framework." According to the Times, Smith said in an interview that money allotted for the initiative would be best used if it went to programs focused on "good outcomes" for youth, "not these disaster-aversion silos that don"t serve us well." Wagoner said that advocates have been "very clear in giving the president credit for shifting tracks here in a big way" by ending funding for abstinence-only sex education. However, he added that it is "our job to press for the right destination" and to see the changes implemented into law (Wetzstein, Washington Times, 6/28).~ Part 2: Some supporters of Obama"s proposal argue that it is "exactly the right idea, at the right time," as the U.S. teen birth rate has increased in the last two years after 14 years of decline, the Times reports. Sarah Brown, CEO of the National Campaign To Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, said that Obama"s proposal is the "first really focused expenditure on effective teen pregnancy prevention programs." Brown noted that the U.S. has the highest rates of teen pregnancy and birth in the industrialized world. She said that the best programs will address one or more of the three goals of the initiative -- delaying first sex, increasing contraceptive use or reducing teen pregnancy. Last month, about 175 organizations sent a letter to Obama and members of Congress calling for an expanded initiative that would include subjects such as sexually transmitted infections and abusive relationships. However, Brown said that many teen pregnancy prevention programs include discussion of STIs and other areas, "[s]o we really don"t see much tension here" (Wetzstein, Washington Times, 7/5). Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.nationalpartnership.org. You can view the entire Daily Women"s Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Daily Women"s Health Policy Report is a free service of the National Partnership for Women & Families, published by The Advisory Board Company. © 2009 The Advisory Board Company. All rights reserved.


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