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A new United Nations initiative designed to improve global maternal, newborn and child health is a welcome development but neglects to address some important action points, according to World Vision, the world's largest international humanitarian organization focusing on the well-being of children.

The devastating consequences of emerging infectious diseases on crops in developing countries and their economic and social impacts are often underestimated, according to a new study by Maurizio Vurro and his colleagues from the Institute of the Science of Food Production in Italy. The authors call for local governments and international communities to establish better mechanisms for monitoring and managing emerging infectious diseases in developing countries, mirroring those already in place in developed countries.

Scientists at the Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS), a biomedical research institute of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), and their colleagues from the National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University, Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School and Princeton University have recently discovered that viruses that 'invaded' the human genome millions of years ago have changed the way genes get turned on and off in human embryonic stem (ES) cells.

Scientists including researchers from the University of Florida have discovered additional evidence that generalized vitiligo — a disease that typically causes patches of white skin on the face, neck and extremities that pop star Michael Jackson may have experienced — is associated with slight variations in genes that play a role in the body's natural defenses.

DALLAS – June 7, 2010 – Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have determined that cancer cells lacking a key protein are more invasive and more likely to metastasize, providing a possible drug target to combat certain tumor types.

CHICAGO -- ASCO Abstract Number: 6522 (http://abstract.asco.org/AbstView_74_47574.html). An extract of green tea appears to have clinical activity with low toxicity in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients who used it in a phase II clinical trial, say researchers at Mayo Clinic.

CHICAGO¬¬¬¬—A therapy that multiplies the effect of a natural disease-fighting antibody has extended the lives of patients with metastatic melanoma in a large, international clinical trial. The study's researchers will report their findings simultaneously at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting in Chicago and in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Three-dimensional imaging is dramatically expanding the ability of researchers to examine biological specimens, enabling a peek into their internal structures. And recent advances in X-ray diffraction methods have helped extend the limit of this approach.

Chicago, IL and San Jose, CA, June 7, 2010 – Chronix Biomedical today reported new data further demonstrating that its serum DNA blood tests have the potential to accurately detect early stage breast cancer and prostate cancer. Chronix's proprietary technology identifies disease-specific genetic fingerprints based on circulating DNA fragments that are released into the bloodstream by damaged and dying (apoptotic) cells.

WESTCHESTER, IL – Bright light therapy has significant effects on sleep disturbances associated with combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder, according to a research abstract that will be presented Monday, June 7, 2010, in San Antonio, Texas, at SLEEP 2010, the 24th annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies LLC.

Results indicate that bright light therapy produced a significantly greater improvement than placebo in sleep disturbances specific to PTSD. Bright light therapy also produced a moderate improvement in PTSD symptoms and depression.

Quebec City − Telemedicine holds the key to the rehabilitation of people with stroke living in northern, rural, remote Canadian communities, rehabilitation researcher Esmé French told the Canadian Stroke Congress today.

"Bringing stroke care to an area the size of France is a massive challenge – especially when many communities lack year round road access," says French. "The unique conditions of northern communities require a unique response from the stroke rehabilitation community."

Quebec – You don't always need to build up a big sweat to reap the healing benefits of physical activity. Research has found that even a low-intense exercise program can reduce depression symptoms and boost physical therapy results in recovering stroke patients.

"The power of physical activity to raise the spirits of recovering stroke patients is stronger than anyone suspected," Heart and Stroke Foundation researcher Dr. Jocelyn Harris told Canadian Stroke Congress, co-hosted by the Canadian Stroke Network, the Heart and Stroke Foundation, and the Canadian Stroke Consortium.

SALT LAKE CITY—Findings of a clinical trial reported at SNM's 57th Annual Meeting indicate that a new molecular imaging agent could improve diagnosis of recurrent prostate cancer and determine the best possible course of treatment for patients.

Boston, MA— Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) have found that children and adolescents living in non-smoking homes in counties with laws promoting smoke-free public places have significantly lower levels of a common biomarker of secondhand smoke exposure than those living in counties with no smoke-free laws.