Neb.-based Premium Protein extends furloughs that began in June again for 400 workers

October 29th, 2009 more images more imagesHealth care issues: Incentives for staying healthyA look at key issues in the health care debate: THE ISSUE: Should private employers offer incentives that encourage their workers to stay healthy? THE POLITICS: The health care bill moving through the Senate would encourage employer programs that reward workers with lower premiums if they make healthier lifestyle choices. Some employers, like Safeway, already discount premiums for workers that meet certain standards for body mass index, quit smoking, or control blood pressure.

October 27th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Body builders eat large amounts of protein, thinking that it is the key to bigger, stronger muscles. Now, a recent study by University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston metabolism researchers provides evidence that strongly contradicts this tradition.

October 20th, 2009 Neb.'s Premium Protein again extends furloughsLINCOLN, Neb. — The furloughs that began in June for about 400 Premium Protein Products workers will be extended for at least two more weeks.

October 19th, 2009 Report: IMS Health in private-equity sales talksNEW YORK — Shares of IMS Health Inc. jumped Monday after a media report indicated the health care data firm is collecting sales offers from private-equity firms.

October 13th, 2009 BHOPAL - Raising concerns over the open air trial of genetically modified corn in Jabalpur, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has asked the state government to stop it. In letters to Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and the central government, AHRC also said the "trial is being conducted to further the commercial interest of Monsanto" - the US-based seed company.

October 12th, 2009 BANGALORE - A group of sex workers from across Karnataka came together here Monday to inaugurate Ashodaya Academy, a regional centre on HIV and AIDS to be run by the sex workers themselves to fight the spread of the disease. The academy is located in Mysore, nearly 150 km from here, and is said to be the first of its kind in the entire Asia Pacific to be run by sex workers for prevention of HIV and AIDS.

October 12th, 2009 MYSORE - A group of sex workers from different parts of Karnataka on Monday inaugurated an academy which is first of its kind in Asia Pacific to spread public awareness about HIV and AIDS. The project has been initiated in collaboration with UNAIDS and Ashodaya Samiti, a Mysore based organization working for the health case issues of sex workers in Karnataka.

October 11th, 2009 A glossary for health insurance open enrollmentOpen enrollment season for employer-sponsored health benefits can come loaded with confusing terms. Here is a glossary of common words or phrases.

October 11th, 2009 CDHPs and HSAs? The ABCs of health insuranceMore workers are likely to be offered a health insurance option that offers a lower premium, but could mean higher out of pocket costs, when open enrollment begins at many companies in coming weeks. Here are some tips for evaluating these new plans, called consumer directed health plans, and the alphabet soup of options this open enrollment season.

October 5th, 2009 Ind., Tenn. to begin swine flu vaccinationsINDIANAPOLIS — Indiana and Tennessee are among the first states that will vaccinate people against the swine flu. Health officials in both states scheduled events Monday in Indianapolis and Memphis to administer nasal mist doses of the swine flu vaccine to doctors, nurses, emergency medical workers and other health care professionals who work directly with patients.

October 5th, 2009 Ind. doctor among 1st to get swine flu vaccinationINDIANAPOLIS — A group of Indiana health care workers is among the first in the nation to be vaccinated against the swine flu. Officials in Indiana and Tennessee set events for Monday to administer nasal mist doses of the swine flu vaccine to doctors, nurses, emergency medical workers and other health care professionals who work directly with patients.

September 27th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Legumes could turn out to be a nutritional powerhouse to help overcome malnutrition among an estimated 800 million undernourished people in the developing world, says a report. Published in an upcoming issue of Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety, the report points out that providing safe, nutritious and wholesome food for poor and undernourished populations has been an increasing challenge for the developing countries, where protein-energy malnutrition is among the most serious problems.

September 15th, 2009 Health insurance premiums rose modestly in 2009The cost of employer-sponsored health insurance rose modestly again this year, but researchers predict a return to bigger increases that may eventually produce crippling premiums if left unchecked. Meanwhile, more workers with single coverage are facing high-deductible plans that make them pay $1,000 or more out of pocket before coverage starts, according to a report released Tuesday by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research and Educational Trust, a nonprofit research organization affiliated with the American Hospital Association.

September 9th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Inspired by New World owl monkeys' ability to make a fusion protein that potently blocks HIV-1 infection, scientists at the University of Geneva in Switzerland have engineered a human HIV-1 inhibitor. Lead researcher Jeremy Luban points out that owl monkeys make AoT5Cyp, and that the human genome encodes the equivalent of the two components of this fusion protein, namely TRIM5 and cyclophilin A.

September 7th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Researchers at the University of British Columbia have turned the bacterium Caulobacter crescentus into a protein production factory by adapting a single protein on its surface, thus making useful proteins that can act as vaccines and drugs. C. crescentus is a harmless bacterium that has a single protein layer on its surface.