University Of Washington

Every time a woman is tested for gene mutations linked to significantly higher rates of breast and ovarian cancer, her blood is sent to a lab in Utah. That's because Salt Lake City-based Myriad Genetics Inc. owns the patents to the BRCA 1 and BRCA 2 mutations, giving it control over all research and testing done nationwide. The company charges thousands of dollars for each set of results. The patents have become the subject of a legal fight that could soon head to the U.S. Supreme Court and have sparked a broader discussion about the fast-evolving field of genomics and so-called personalized medicine, in which treatments are tailored based on a patient's genetic makeup.

By learning from mistakes, anesthesiologists have developed measures to significantly reduce risks from anesthesia-related injuries.After a seven-year study of settled insurance claims found that injuries related to the respiratory system were the biggest problem area, anesthesiologists adopted two new techniques for monitoring breathing, said Dr. Robert Caplan of the University of Washington at Seattle.One, called pulse oximetry, uses a simple device clipped to a finger or ear lobe to measure oxygen levels in the blood.

Jean Guitton, 98, a Catholic philosopher and academic who was the only layman authorized to take part in the Second Vatican Council, died Sunday in Paris. Mr. Guitton, the oldest member of the Academie Francaise, was the author of about 30 works, mostly focusing on the relationship between Catholicism and modern thought.Dr. Russell Ross, 69, a University of Washington professor whose research made important advances in the understanding of why arteries harden, died Thursday of complications after cancer surgery in Seattle.

One in five Americans has significant hearing loss, far more than previously thought, according to new research that has scientists warning of an impending public health threat. Researchers at the Johns Hopkins University say the growing number of seniors in the United States are at risk of isolation from their hearing loss and could suffer physical and mental debilitation. "People think hearing loss is an inconsequential part of getting older," said Dr. Frank Lin, an assistant professor in Hopkins' department of otolaryngology-head and neck, who led the study.

Michelle Bond and Michael Kappert Michelle Suzanne Bond, daughter of Richard and Angela Bond, of Bowie, will wed Michael Kappert, son of Martin and Mary Sue Kappert, of Columbia on July 14, 2012. The Rev. Michael Gladish will perform the ceremony in Bryn Athyn Cathedral, followed by a reception at the James A. Michener Art Museum, Doylestown, Pa. Jessica Hyatt as matron of honor and Lisa Bond, maid of honor, will attend the bride. Brad Dunn and Tom O'Brien will serve as best men. The newlyweds will travel to Hawaii and Alaska on a honeymoon trip.

SEATTLE -- A sheet of ice half the size of Alaska is on schedule to raise sea levels about 20 feet in 7,000 years, and there's nothing that can be done about it.Scientists from the University of Washington and the University of Maine reported in Friday's edition of Science that the 360,000-square-mile West Antarctic ice sheet has been melting for 15,000 years and should be gone in 7,000.A lingering effect of the Ice Age, the ice sheet's disintegration should raise sea levels nearly 1 centimeter a decade for a total of 6 meters, or nearly 20 feet.

Services for Margaret D. Forfhey, a former records clerk atFranklin Square Hospital, will be held today at the Robert E. Peters Funeral Home in Huntingdon, Pa.Mrs. Forfhey died Friday at the Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, Pa., of a pulmonary embolism. She was 80.Born in New Enterprise, Pa., Mrs. Forfhey was a 1928 graduate of Altoona High School and attended the University of Washington in Seattle. She and her husband, Robert L. Forfhey, lived for many years in Baltimore while she was an employee at Franklin Square and he worked at Westinghouse Electric.

This week's nitwit award goes to the multimillionaire lawyer who wrote an e-mail to the University of Washington president offering to donate a $100,000 scholarship to the Washington law school if football coach Ty Willingham were fired. The Huskies finished 4-9 this season. Oh yeah, and another scholarship of 100 grand for the termination of athletic director Todd Turner. Turner, as a matter of fact, subsequently resigned.

The Adventurous Traveler's Guide to Health University of Washington Press, $14.95 Christopher Sanford is a writer and family practitioner who specializes in travel and tropical medicine. Here he offers treatment advice with the intent of reducing your risk of illness and injury while traveling abroad. He discusses immunizations (including those that are routine, required and recommended), urban medicine (referring here to such things as air pollution or street crime), traveling with chronic medical problems (such as diabetes or chronic bronchitis)

HELEN ELAINE FREEMAN, 75 Advocate for leopards Helen Elaine Freeman, known to many as "the Jane Goodall of snow leopards" for her advocacy on behalf of the increasingly rare central Asian big cats, died yesterday of lung disease, according to the International Snow Leopard Trust, which she founded in 1981 after becoming fascinated with two of the creatures at a zoo. She traveled to Asia, Europe and around the United States to drum up support for protecting...