April 25, 2001 -
April 25, 2001 - Minnesota is known around the country for its medical device companies. But the state lacks a vibrant biotechnology industry that many say could be vital to future economic development. Now state officials are joining the University of Minnesota in launching a public-private partnership they hope will encourage small companies and make the state a center for biotech business activity. Minnesota Public Radio's Andrew Haeg reports.
April 25, 2001 - About 150 Minnesota teens congregated at the capitol yesterday to apply pressure on legislators. They want their money to fight the tobacco companies, but the government thinks that their cut is too big.
April 25, 2001 - The University of Minnesota has hired an international expert in BSE, or what's commonly known as Mad Cow Disease to head its new Center for Animal Health and Food Safety at the College of Veterinary Medicine. As a veterinarian, William Hueston has devoted his career to understanding and tracking animal diseases here and in the United Kingdom. In the early Nineties, he led the charge to discover the risks of BSE affecting animals in the U-S. I asked him about the chances of it showing up in the states:
April 26, 2001 - MPR’s Dan Gunderson reports that Minnesota counties are concerned about a legislative proposal to cut off cash welfare payments to thousands of Minnesotans starting next summer. County officials fear they will be responsible for paying the cost of caring for those who lose state assistance. Advocacy groups say many of Minnesota’s working poor will forced to seek charity to survive….but the author of the House bill says those concerns are largely unfounded.
April 27, 2001 - The physician-assisted dying movement began taking shape about thirty years ago with laws allowing patients to refuse medical treatment, including life-prolonging therapy. Over the past decade some doctors, most notably Jack Kevorkian, have argued for a more active role in assisting patients who want to die on their own terms. The Center for Bioethics at the University of Minnesota is co-sponsoring a conference today Helms reports.
April 27, 2001 - The Minnesota Nurses Association and 13 Twin Cities Hospitals are negotiating new contracts for nearly 9 thousand nurses. The current contract is up on May 31st and both sides say they need to create a system that will attract and keep nurses in the field. The nursing union says a shortage of nurses has increased workloads , causing some to retire and others to seek new jobs. They say local hospitals have to increase pay levels dramatically to keep nurses working. Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Scheck reports...
April 30, 2001 -
May 1, 2001 -
May 3, 2001 - A University of Minnesota professor has published a study that says a popular drug used to treat heart failure is less effective in blacks than in whites. The author says the findings, published in the latest edition of the New England Journal of Medicine, are important because blacks have higher rates of heart failure. But others argue the findings are skewed and say there's no biological differences between the two races. Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Scheck reports...