Google unveils first 10-inch Nexus tablet

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Google Inc unveiled a larger version of its Nexus-branded tablet computer on Monday, and updated its mobile gadget and online content offerings as competition with Apple Inc, Amazon.com Inc and Microsoft Corp heats up ahead of the holiday sales season. The device follows a spate of new product launches by the technology leaders in recent weeks, including Apple's...

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Meningitis Outbreak Updates and Insights

affiliate marketing Physicians, health experts, and public health officials continue to grapple with the ongoing outbreak of fungal meningitis related to contaminated vials of an injectable steroid medication. Some nearly 14,000 people who may have been inadvertently exposed to the infection wait with bated breath to see if they, too,...

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Northeast hunkers down ahead of Hurricane Sandy

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — A strengthening Hurricane Sandy churned north Monday, raking ghost-town cities along the Northeast corridor with rain and wind gusts. Subways and schools were closed across the region of 50 million people, the floor of the New York Stock Exchange was deserted, and thousands fled inland to await the storm's fury.As the storm closed in on the mid-Atlantic coast, it washed...

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More than ever, Barca more than club for Catalans

affiliate marketing BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Nearly 20 minutes into the latest clash between Spain’s most popular football teams, Barcelona‘s 98,000-seat Camp Nou stadium erupted into a deafening roar. Tens of thousands of Catalans in the city at the heart of their separatist movement chanted in unison: “Independence!”More than ever,...

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Labrinth, Taylor Swift top UK music charts

affiliate marketing LONDON (Reuters) – Singer-producer Labrinth topped the British singles charts this week with the ballad “Beneath Your Beautiful” featuring Emeli Sande.It was the first No. 1 as a solo artist for the British singer. affiliate marketing Boy band JLS was new in at...

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SAP eyes "long" period of high sales growth: report

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New test to improve HIV diagnosis in poor countries

LONDON (Reuters) – Scientists have come up with a test for the virus that causes AIDS that is ten times more sensitive and a fraction of the cost of existing methods, offering the promise of better diagnosis and treatment in the developing world.

The test uses nanotechnology to give a result that can be seen with the naked eye by turning a sample red or blue, according to research from scientists at Imperial College in London published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology.

“Our approach affords for improved sensitivity, does not require sophisticated instrumentation and it is ten times cheaper,” Molly Stevens, who led the research, told Reuters.

Simple and quick HIV tests that analyze saliva already exist but they can only pick up the virus when it reaches relatively high concentrations in the body.

“We would be able to detect infection even in those cases where previous methods, such as the saliva test, were rendering a ‘false negative’ because the viral load was too low to be detected,” she said.

The test could also be reconfigured to detect other diseases, such as sepsis, Leishmaniasis, Tuberculosis and malaria, Stevens said.

Testing is not only crucial in picking up the HIV virus early but also for monitoring the effectiveness of treatments.

“Unfortunately, the existing gold standard detection methods can be too expensive to be implemented in parts of the world where resources are scarce,” Stevens said.

According to 2010 data from the World Health Organisation, about 23 million people living with HIV are in Sub-Saharan Africa out of a worldwide total of 34 million.

The virus is also spreading faster and killing more people in this part of the world. Sub-Saharan Arica accounted for 1.9 million new cases out of a global total of 2.7 million in the same year, and 1.2 million out of the 1.8 million deaths.

The new sensor works by testing serum, a clear watery fluid derived from blood samples, in a disposable container for the presence of an HIV biomarker called p24.

If p24 is present, even in minute concentrations, it causes the tiny gold nanoparticles to clump together in an irregular pattern that turns the solution blue. A negative result separates them into ball shapes that generate a red color.

The researchers also used the test to pick up the biomarker for Prostate Cancer called Prostate Specific Antigen, which was the target of previous work that Stevens did with collaborators at University of Vigo in Spain.

That sensor used tiny gold stars laden with antibodies that latched onto the marker in a sample and produced a silver coating that could be detected with microscopes.

Stevens and her collaborator on the new test, Roberto de la Rica, said they plan to approach not-for-profit global health organizations to help them manufacture and distribute the new sensor in low income countries.

(Editing by Jason Webb)

Health News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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Analysis: Fiscal cliff could hit economy harder than many expect

By Jason Lange WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States runs the risk of a recession far deeper than many investors and policymakers may think if lawmakers fail to avert looming tax hikes and cuts to public spending. Absent action by Congress, the country will face the so-called fiscal cliff at the start of next year, a combination of lower spending and higher taxes that...

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Lithuania opens 2nd round of national election

affiliate marketing VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) — Voting stations have opened in the second round of Lithuania’s parliamentary elections, with the results likely to determine whether the small East European nation continues tough austerity measures in an effort to join the euro zone.Nearly half of Parliament’s 141 seats are at stake in single-mandate...

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Reports: UK police arrest Gary Glitter

affiliate marketing LONDON (AP) — The sex abuse scandal surrounding the late BBC children’s television host Jimmy Savile widened on Sunday as police arrested former glam rock star and convicted sex offender Gary Glitter in connection with the case, British media said.Police would not directly identify the suspect arrested Sunday, but...

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