Sequencing and Analysis of the Hydra Genome
Chapman, Kirkness et al., Nature
An international research collaboration reports their sequencing and analysis of the Hydra magnipapillata genome, and compare it to the genomes of several other organisms. "The Hydra genome has been shaped by bursts of transposable element expansion, horizontal gene transfer, trans-splicing, and simplification of gene structure and gene content that parallel simplification of the Hydra life cycle," the authors write. They team suggests that comparisons of the Hydra genome to the reported sequences of other animals have helped them to elucidate the evolution of several of the organism's characteristics.
House Health Bill Includes Cash to Help Train, Maintain New Lab Techs
November 09, 2009
The health-care bill that passed the House of Representatives over the weekend includes scholarships to help individuals pay for clinical lab training and incentives to help academic clinical lab programs train and maintain lab techs.
Say what you will about the legislation, but one thing is certain: These two provisions, together with the uptick in business clinical labs are expected to see from an increase in newly insured individuals, could trigger a surge in demand for lab services. This up-shot could also spill over to test vendors, which would benefit from a potential increase in demand for their assays and platforms.
And although the 1,990-page bill is short on specific dollar amounts it would allocate (keep in mind it would cost more than $1 trillion to implement), these incentives could also help staff-starved clinical labs increase headcount by making it more affordable for individuals to enroll in training programs.
The legislation must still be approved by the Senate and signed by President Obama.
For individuals considering working in a clinical lab, the bill authorizes the HHS Secretary to establish a Public Health Workforce Scholarship Program. To be eligible for the program, individuals must “be accepted for enrollment, or be enrolled, as a full-time or part-time student in a course of study or program,” including “laboratory science”
According to the bill, the program will “provide the individual with a scholarship for a period of years (not to exceed 4 academic years).” Scholarships ”may include … payment of reasonable educational expenses of the individual, including tuition, fees, books, equipment, and laboratory expenses; and payment of a stipend of not more than $1,269 [adjusted for inflation] per month for each month of the academic year involved.”
In exchange, the scholarship will require the individual to “complete [the] course of study or program” and to “maintain an acceptable level of academic standing.”
Individuals will also be required to complete a residency or internship “if applicable” and “serve full-time as a public health professional for a period of time equal to the greater of 1 year for each academic year for which the individual was provided a scholarship under the program,” among other requirements.
The bill also defines a federal loan-repayment program for individuals. The so-called Public Health Workforce Loan Repayment Program is open to individuals who have a “graduate degree from an accredited school or program of public health and have demonstrated expertise in public health; [who] have a graduate degree in a course of study or program from an accredited school program of … laboratory science, or [who are] enrolled as a full-time or part-time student in the final year of a course of study or program.”
According to the bill, the program will “repay on behalf of the individual loans incurred by the individual in the pursuit of the relevant public health workforce educational degree.”
The repayment will include “the principal, interest, and related expenses on government and commercial loans received by the individual regarding the undergraduate or graduate education of the individual (or both) … including tuition, fees, books, equipment, and laboratory expenses.”
In exchange, the individual will, “if applicable, complete a residency or internship,” “serve full-time as a public health professional for a period of time equal to 2 years or such longer period as the individual may agree to,” and other requirements.
Meantime, the fellowship program, which will be run through the Health Resources and Services Administration and “in consultation with” CDC, will comprise a “public health workforce-training and -enhancement program consisting of awarding grants and contracts.”
According to the bill, the program will “award grants to, or enter into contracts with eligible entities … to help them plan, develop, operate, or participate in an accredited professional training program in the field of … laboratory science.” The bill does not specify the dollar amount or duration of the program.
To be eligible for the program, an entity “shall be an accredited health professions school including an accredited school or program … of laboratory science.”
The bill allows the HHS Secretary to “give preference to entities that have a demonstrated record of at least one of the following: Training a high or significantly improved percentage of public health professionals who serve in underserved communities; training individuals who are from disadvantaged backgrounds (including racial and ethnic minorities underrepresented among public health professionals);” and “training individuals in public health specialties experiencing a significant shortage of public health professionals.
The program “will also be used to provide financial assistance in the form of traineeships and fellowships to students who are participants in any such program and who plan to specialize or work” in laboratory science. The bill does not specify the dollar amount or duration of the fellowships.
