Starve a tumor, feed a cell: How cancers can resist drugs

With drug resistance a major challenge in the fight against cancer, a discovery by University of California, Irvine biologists could offer new approaches to overcoming the obstacle. Their research reveals that a mechanism enabling the diseased cells to scavenge dead cell debris for nourishment holds a pivotal role. The study by Aimee Edinger, associate professor of developmental & cell biology, and researcher Vaishali Jayashankar appears in Nature Communications.
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Less than 20% of Americans have rapid access to endovascular thrombectomy for stroke

Timely treatment is critical for stroke victims, yet only 19.8% of the U.S. population can access a stroke center capable of endovascular thrombectomy to remove a large clot in 15 minutes or less by ambulance, according to researchers from The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth). Only 30% of Americans can access a thrombectomy-equipped center in 30 minutes.
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Interplay between states and federal government in implementing the ACA

The fierce national debate over health care reform includes deep divisions over the appropriate roles of the federal and state governments. For example, while Sen Bernie Sanders (I-VT) calls for expanding the federal Medicare program to cover all Americans, the Trump administration pushes for the states to have far greater authority. However, according to Michael Sparer, JD, Ph.D., chair of health policy and management at the Columbia Mailman School of Public Health, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) points towards a more effective inter-governmental partnership, one in which the states have significant policy and administrative discretion, bounded by strong national standards designed to limit unacceptable inequities.
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Pregnant women with depression are more than three times more likely to use cannabis

Cannabis use is much more common among pregnant women with depression and pregnant women with depression are more than 3 times more likely to use cannabis than those without depression, according to a new study at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. Despite data linking cannabis and depression in many populations, this is the first study to examine this relationship among pregnant women in a nationally representative sample. The findings are online in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence.
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