Archive for July 29th, 2010

Hip hope from stem cell technique

Posted on July 29, 2010 by Jason

BBC World News, July 28th, 2010

US researchers have developed a promising new
technique that might one day enable doctors to regrow broken or diseased
joints in patients.

Writing in the The Lancet, US researchers say they have regrown the forelimb thigh joint of rabbits using their own stem cells.

It was the first time an entire joint surface had been regenerated with the return of functions, they said.

The research could benefit patients with damaged hips, shoulders or knees.

The team removed the limbs from 10 rabbits and replaced them with an artificial limb-shaped skeleton.

This was soaked with chemicals which attract bone and cartilage stem cells.

Four weeks later the rabbits had regrown their joints and were able to move normally.

“This is the first time an entire joint surface was
regenerated with return of functions including weight bearing and
locomotion,” said Professor Jeremy Mao of Columbia University Medical
Center, New York.

“Regeneration of cartilage and bone both from the host’s own
stem cells, rather than taking stem cells out of the body, may
ultimately lead to clinical applications. In patients who need the knee,
shoulder, hip or finger joints regenerated, the rabbit model provides a
proof of principle,” he said.

Read more of this article.

New rule cracks down on debt settlement industry

Posted on July 29, 2010 by Jason

Yahoo News, July 27th, 2010

Companies that promise to reduce or eliminate credit card balances
and other debt for customers will no longer be allowed to charge an
upfront fee.

The Federal Trade Commission said Thursday that the
new restrictions are a crack down on the debt settlement industry, which
flourished during the economic downturn as borrowers struggled to pay
bills.

Debt settlement companies will now only be able to charge a
fee once a customer’s debt has been reduced, settled or renegotiated.
The rule goes into effect Oct. 27.

Since the start of the
recession, the Better Business Bureau has received more than 3,500
complaints about debt settlement companies. Customers complained that
they ended up deeper in debt or were sued by creditors after failing to
make payments. The bureau did not separately track complaints against
the industry prior to the recession.

Debt settlement companies
often charge an upfront fee, typically a percentage of the customer’s
outstanding balance. In exchange, the company promises to negotiate with
creditors to reduce or eliminate the debt, sometimes by as much as
half.

The new FTC regulations also require debt settlement
companies to disclose to customers how long it will take to get results,
how much it will cost, and any negative consequences that could arise
from the process.

For example, customers can go deeper into debt when they hire a debt settlement company.

This is because customers stop making payments on their loans, and late fees and interest charges continue piling up.

Customers
are also often required to start setting aside money in a separate
account maintained by the debt settlement company. This money is
intended to eventually pay off any remaining debt.

Under the new
rule, however, companies will only be able to require such an account if
it’s maintained at an independent financial institution under a
customer’s name.

Read more of this article.

When your unemployment benefits expire

Posted on July 29, 2010 by Jason

The Chicago Tribune, July 26th, 2010

With the U.S. Senate‘s failure in June to extend unemployment benefits that expired, things have gone from bad to worse for unemployed workers.

On
top of that, Congress hasn’t restored another recently expired subsidy
that has been paying the bulk of health insurance premiums for workers
who lost their jobs since September 2008.

Worker advocates have their fingers crossed that federal legislators will have a change of heart,
at least for unemployment benefits. But the unemployed shouldn’t bank
on that, given concerns in Congress that the deficit is getting out of
hand and spending must be cut.

States generally provide benefits
for 26 weeks, but federal money has allowed them to extend that for a
total of 60 weeks to 99 weeks, depending on the severity of unemployment
in each state, said Judy Conti with the National Employment Law
Project.

Read more of this article.

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