The fifth round of Asthma UK’s Challenge Fund was launched, giving health professionals and local groups the opportunity to make a unique impact in the community.Previous successful applications resulted in a programme involving children and health professionals using singing to improve breathing and self-confidence. [click link for full article]

“A healthy baby begins with you” seeks to heighten awareness of African-American babies dying from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, prematurity and low birth weightWHO: The Office of Minority Health (OMH), a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), brings to Detroit its educational campaign to raise awareness about the disproportionately high infant mortality rates that exist in the African American community. [click link for full article]

Gordon Brown, Public Affairs and Communications Manager at Asthma UK Scotland said:Inhaled steroids have transformed the management of asthma over the last 25 years and dramatically reduced the suffering associated with the condition.However, many people with asthma may also have conditions such as hay fever and eczema and therefore may be taking more than one dose of inhaled steroids. [click link for full article]

A new study has found an unexpected number of viruses and viral subtypes in patients with respiratory tract infections (RTIs). The technique used in the study may help identify new viruses associated with human diseases. The study is published in the September 15 issue of The Journal of Infectious Diseases, now available online. [click link for full article]

With breast cancer affecting over 44,000 women and 300 men each year in the UK, the leading breast cancer charity, Breakthrough Breast Cancer revealed exciting plans to open three new dedicated research units, which will investigate ways to prevent breast cancer and improve diagnosis and treatments for the disease. This announcement is part of Breakthrough’s new strategy, which aims to move the charity towards its vision of a future free from the fear of breast cancer. [click link for full article]

Research presented at the British Pharmaceutical Conference (BPC) in Manchester, shows that a compound extracted from tangerine peel can kill certain human cancer cells. Researchers based at the Leicester School of Pharmacy showed that human cancer cells (which contain an enzyme called P450 CYP1B1) were destroyed by a compound called Salvestrol Q40, contained in tangerine peel. Some types of human cancer cells contain abnormally high levels of P450 CYP1B1. [click link for full article]

Members of parliament from Botswana, Kenya, Namibia and Tanzania next week will meet in Nairobi, Kenya, to discuss strategies for fighting HIV/AIDS and improving women’s health, Xinhua News Agency reports. Discussion topics for the two-day conference, scheduled for Sept. 11 and Sept. 12, include stigma associated with HIV, women’s health policy and ways to connect lawmakers with communities. [click link for full article]

World-first equipment, made exclusively for UQ scientists, will determine how to produce food which is better for us, but still tastes good. UQ researcher Professor Bob Gilbert said that while an unhealthy lifestyle and poor eating habits were significant factors in Australia’s obesity and diabetes epidemics, they were not entirely to blame. [click link for full article]

Receiving rosiglitazone long-term raises the risk for heart failure and heart attack, according to a report in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). Rosiglitazone is a glycemic control medication given to patients with Diabetes Type 2 and people with glucose intolerance. Sonal Singh, M.D., Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, N.C. [click link for full article]

Teen suicide is an often preventable tragedy. It is an appropriate focus of research and inquiry. Two new studies focused on the issue raise both important clinical and policy questions. [click link for full article]