Month: October 2012
Crucial vote nears in Boeing contract talks
SEATTLE (Reuters) – One of Boeing's chief labor unions staged rallies in and around Seattle this week, calling attention to a vote set for Monday that will show whether workers are willing to accept a less generous contract offered by Boeing Co or move closer to a strike. Hundreds of engineers and technicians marched at the company's two plants, its downtown Seattle office and other facilities with signs saying "Boeing: Hands Off My Healthcare" and "We Delivered. …
Vomiting virus hits thousands of German children
Exclusive: North Korea plans agriculture reforms – source
BEIJING (Reuters) – North Korea plans to allow farmers to keep more of their produce in an attempt to boost agricultural output, a source with close ties to Pyongyang and Beijing said, in a move that could boost supplies, help cap rising food prices and ease malnutrition. The move to liberalize agriculture under new leader Kim Jong-un, who took office in December 2011 after the death of his father, would reverse a crackdown on private production that started in 2005. It comes amid talk that the youngest Kim to rule the impoverished North is considering reforms to boost the economy. …
Ariad lung cancer drug shrinks tumors in small trial
(Reuters) – A small early-stage trial of Ariad Pharmaceuticals Inc’s experimental pill AP26113 showed it shrank tumors in eight out of 11 lung cancer patients with a genetic mutation in a gene known as ALK. The drug, called ‘113 for short, is being tested in patients with non-small cell lung cancer who test positive for the abnormal ALK gene, as well as those with a specific mutation in a gene known as EGFR. Thirty-four patients have been enrolled in the Phase 1/2 trial, which is designed to determine the ideal dosage for later-stage trials. …
Beware Rogue Online Pharmacies, FDA Says
Ann Romney: biggest fear is for Mitt’s "mental well-being"
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Ann Romney told a Nevada television station her biggest concern if her husband, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, becomes president was his "mental well-being." In an interview Thursday with television station KTVN, Mrs. Romney was asked what her biggest worry was should Mitt Romney be elected to serve in the White House. "I think my biggest concern obviously would just be for his mental well-being," she said. "I have all the confidence in the world in his ability, in his decisiveness, in his leadership skills, in his understanding of the economy. … …
Carmageddon Turned Into Carmaheaven For Your Lungs
This weekend is carmageddon II in Los Angeles, when a sizable, well-trafficked chunk of the popular 405 freeway will again be closed to all motor vehicles. The previous one didn’t produce the traffic snarls that were feared, and it also didn’t produce something else—smog.
Bahrain court upholds jail terms on protesting medics: BNA
DUBAI (Reuters) – Bahrain's highest court on Monday upheld jail terms issued against nine medics convicted for their role in last year's pro-democracy uprising, state news agency BNA reported, a decision that could further fuel unrest in the Gulf Arab state. The controversial case has drawn international criticism of the U.S.-allied Gulf Arab kingdom, which has been in turmoil since the protests led by its Shi'ite Muslim majority were crushed by the Sunni rulers. Bahrain, home base for the U.S. …
Cancer trials show one year on Roche’s Herceptin is best
LONDON (Reuters) – Extending treatment with Roche's breast cancer drug Herceptin to two years from the one year current standard is not worth while, trial data showed on Monday, but shortening treatment to six months also looks unlikely to benefit patients. The results of two keenly-watched studies on Herceptin, known generically as trastuzumab, banish a downside risk for Roche, but also limit its ability to squeeze more value out of the lucrative drug before it loses its patent from 2014. Analysts had said the Swiss firm, the world's biggest maker of cancer drugs, could lose up to $1. …