A three-judge panel of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia on Thursday ruled 2-1 in favor of a Wisconsin antiabortion group’s constitutional challenge of key provisions of the McCain-Feingold federal campaign finance law, the New York Times reports (Phillips, New York Times, 12/22). [click link for full article]

Psychiatric researchers from The Zucker Hillside Hospital campus of The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research have announced that they have launched a collaborative research project spearheaded by James Watson, PhD, the co-discoverer of the DNA double helix, and a team of researchers at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) to identify key genetic underpinnings of bipolar disorder (BPD), a mental illness that is known to run in families. [click link for full article]

“HIV-1 Disease Progression in Breast-Feeding and Formula-Feeding Mothers: A Prospective Two-Year Comparison of T-Cell Subsets, HIV-1 RNA Levels and Mortality,” Journal of Infectious Diseases: Phelgona Otieno of the Centre for Clinical Research at the [click link for full article]

The natural herb black cohosh is commonly used by women to treat menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes, but the molecular mechanisms underlying its action have eluded scientists — until now.Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago and the National Institutes of Health Center for Botanical Dietary Supplements Research have discovered that black cohosh may act on human opiate receptors, which play a role in regulating a body’s temperature.Z. [click link for full article]

Hispanic women are giving birth to more children and at a younger age, and an increasing number of the new mothers are leaving the work force, according to studies recently conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Miami Herald reports. [click link for full article]

The widely used breast cancer drug tamoxifen (Nolvadex®), which can become less effective over time, might retain its full strength indefinitely if used along with a second drug, according to new research in mice conducted by investigators from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, and their partners. The results appear in Cancer Cell*. [click link for full article]

The only independent birthing center in the District of Columbia is reducing costs for the city’s health care system by more than $800,000 annually, primarily because of the reduced numbers of caesarean sections and preterm deliveries, according to Ruth Watson Lubic, the center’s founder and chair, the Washington Post reports. [click link for full article]

Organon, the human healthcare business unit of Akzo Nobel, has moved Org 50081, a Serotonin 2 blocker (S2B) for the treatment of insomnia, into Phase III clinical development. About 70 million Americans each year suffer from symptoms of insomnia, which can lead to problems with daytime functioning. Insomnia tends to occur more often in elderly and women and is associated with an increased risk for developing other illnesses such as depression. [click link for full article]

A team of US and Dutch scientists have found that men with high blood pressure who drink moderate amounts of alcohol are less likely to suffer fatal or non-fatal heart attacks. They also suggest the risk of heart attack or stroke is no different for hypertensive men who drink moderately to those who do not drink at all.The long-term study is published in the latest issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine, due out today. [click link for full article]

The Los Angeles Times on Thursday in an interactive slide show examined the impact of HIV/AIDS on rural areas in India, with a particular focus on women (Los Angeles Times, 12/21). [click link for full article]