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The clinical laboratory company said in a release that an "unauthorized user" gained access to a system used by American Medical Collection Agency (AMCA), a billing vendor hired by a Quest contractor called Optum360. Quest said the information that may have been exposed included Social Security numbers and medical information, but not test results. AMCA first notified Quest on May 14 of "potential unauthorized activity" on its payment page, Quest said. Two weeks later, according to Quest, AMCA then told Quest and Optum360 more about the breach, including the number of patients potentially affected and what information was accessed. Quest...

Schematic of a real-time in vitro fecal fermentation gas-sensing system. Credit: Nam Ha Microbes in the human body are estimated to outnumber human cells by 10 to 1, yet research on how they affect health is still in its infancy. A perspective article published by Cell Press on March 12th in Trends in Biotechnology presents evidence that gut microbes produce gases that may contribute to gastrointestinal diseases and could be used as biomarkers for one's state of health. As means to measure these potential biomarkers, the authors suggest two novel gas-sensing systems, one of which is an electronic gas sensor...

Was your PSA test slightly high, your Pap smear “not quite right”, your mammogram funny? Did your CT scan detect a teeny weenie nodule and your doctor schedule a biopsy? Cancer!! That’s what they say! You end up with the painful treatment and are proclaimed a “cancer survivor”. But was it cancer? Early detection of cancer Since ages, doctors say, that early detection leads to treatment in time, as the cancer spread will be slowed with timely diagnosis. Whether it was the prostrate, lung, breast or thyroid , that’s what the theory stated. The question is- was the cancer actually...

The scientists discovered that the ceramide-1 phosphate transport protein (CPTP) regulates levels of biologically active lipids, which are molecules such as fatty acids that often play a role in cell signaling. They found that CPTP's main function is to transport ceramide-1-phosphate (C1P), a lipid that helps regulate cell growth, survival, migration and inflammation. Specifically, C1P increases the production of pro-inflammatory eicosanoids – powerful signaling molecules that contribute to chronic inflammation in diseases such as cancer, asthma, atherosclerosis and thrombosis – and the discovery of CPTP sheds a light on the cellular mechanisms that contribute to these diseases. "We may have...

Enlarge Image Seconds count. When a laser beam, pulsing at an average of once every 760 nanoseconds (left), is absorbed by red blood cells, the cells release sound waves that far exceed 100MhZ (right). Credit: Strohm et al., Biophysical Journal (2013) Combining lasers with a principle discovered by Alexander Graham Bell over 100 years ago, researchers have developed a new way to collect high-resolution information about the shape of red blood cells. Because diseases like malaria can alter the shape of the body's cells, the device may provide a way to accurately diagnose various blood disorders. The study relies...

Enlarge ImageFast shuffle. Liquids of different colors stream from four inlets on the top of a microPAD into 64 predetermined reservoirs on the bottom.Credit: Martinez et al., PNAS 105 (50) (16 December 2008) To help doctors and health workers in developing countries diagnose diseases, researchers have developed simple detection devices made only of paper and adhesive tape that cost a fraction of conventional diagnostic equipment. The technology could also find uses in environmental monitoring and homeland security. The lab work that hospitals and clinics routinely perform in developed countries is often unavailable in Third World countries. Two primary reasons...

When the SARS (Severe acute respiratory syndrome) epidemic broke out in 2002, Israeli scientist Dorit Arad was alarmed. She was living in the US at the time, and had to fly frequently for her work, exposing herself to risk. During the outbreak, which lasted from November 2002 to July 2003, 774 people died of the highly contagious respiratory disease - a mortality rate of 9.6 percent. "I was panicked," admits Arad. "I even started wearing a mask." It gave her an idea, however. One of the problems with this pneumonia-like disease, was diagnosis, which was expensive, slow, and had a...

ATLANTA, Georgia -- The celebrity was John Ritter. art.ritter.getty.jpg Actor John Ritter died in September 2003 from an aortic dissection, a commonly misdiagnosed condition. The actor died in 2003 of an aortic dissection -- a tearing of the major artery that comes out of the heart. His widow later settled a wrongful death lawsuit against a California hospital, alleging his condition had been misdiagnosed "at least twice." Experts who study malpractice cases and autopsy reports say certain diseases are misdiagnosed over and over again. It's worth knowing what they are so you won't be a victim. 1. Aortic dissection: Sometimes...

Run iPod Diagnostics READ MORE: iPod Methodshop.com explains ways to do deep diagnostics on your iPod. It’s starts be talking about how to get into diagnostic mode and then has overviews of the various tests you can run. I’d bet many out there didn’t even know there was a diagnostic mode. Well, now you know. The iPod’s Diagnostic Mode [Methodshop.com]

IBM has begun to promote a technology suite that could one day let cars solve their own problems. The Parametric Analysis Center essentially creates an environment where data from a car's electric systems feeds into a central processing unit, called a Telematics Control Unit. The TCU then alerts a driver or a dealer when a potential malfunction--high heat emanating from particular components, a leak in a gasket--has begun, thereby giving them a chance to nip the problem in the bud. "We can make a large impact in the warranty process," said Nathaniel Mills, a senior technical staff member at IBM...