The latest Obama vs McCain Massachusetts opinion polls indicate that Massachusetts wants Obama.

The polls show that Barack Obama is presently leading John McCain, in the presidential race, in Massachusetts.

In an announcement, Governor Deval L. Patrick said he plans to eliminate 1,000 jobs from state government and slash the budget by more than $1 billion, in reaction to the national economic crisis. According to his administration, this is the worst single round of midyear budget rollbacks in state history.

This decision comes after several weeks of escalating drama on Beacon Hill, with lawmakers and municipal officials rallying against cuts in local aid and education funds, as the governor warned of cuts into governmental “muscle.”

According to a new study, more than four cups of coffee can increase the risk of breast cancer. The researchers found that caffeinated drinks are responsible for one third of the breast cancer cases. The study also highlights an increase in developing large tumours with high intake of caffeinated drinks.

The researchers, however, were unable to give a safe caffeine intake for women. But they did indicate that more than four cups of coffee a day can increase the breast cancer risk by 68%. The risk further aggravates with advancement ion age.

According to a study in the Archives of Neurology, limited alcohol, said to be good for heart, may shrink the brain. Researchers have found that alcohol consumption even in moderation may be less medicinal than earlier believed to be and people who drink alcohol have smaller brain volume than those who do not. Though there is natural shrinkage of up to 2 % in brain volume as people age, scientists felt that alcohol in moderation could slow this natural shrinkage by improving blood flow and heart function.

The American Academy of Pediatrics has doubled the recommended daily dose of vitamin D for children to 400 international units of vitamin D each day, up from 200 IU that had been prescribed in the past. The doctors released the new guideline and said they hoped to prevent rickets in children as well as give other health benefits with the recommended increase at a meeting in Boston this week.

Plaintiffs in a lawsuit against drug maker Pfizer Inc. have said that the company controlled the publication of negative scientific studies to expand sale of its epilepsy drug Neurontin. The tactics employed by them, according to documents filed in the federal court in Boston yesterday included delaying the publication of studies that said the drug did not work for some disorders, “spinning” negative data in order to show it in a more positive light and bolstering negative findings with positive studies.

A two year study results published in the 25th September 2008 edition of the Science journal by researchers at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston says that stem cells as effective as those from human embryos can be created from adult cells, simply by developing a safer way of obtaining stem cells from common skin cells, without using harmful cancer causing viruses.

The ailing ‘liberal giant’ and patriarch of America’s most storied political family, Senator Edward Kennedy, was examined and released from a Massachusetts hospital on Friday. A statement from his office said that Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts, who is undergoing treatment for a malignant brain tumor, was taken to a hospital near his home in Hyannis Port, after suffering a “mild seizure.”

U.S. researchers have announced that they have found a safer method of developing "induced pluripotent stem cells" (iPS cells) from mice skin cells without side effects. Scientists had earlier grown iPS cells that resembled embryonic stem cells, but as this method involved the introduction of specific DNA-binding proteins to cells via potentially harmful viruses, and this often altered the cells' genomes resulting in the growth of tumors in animals.

Obama is having a big lead over McCain, in the Massachusetts opinion polls. The current Obama vs McCain Massachusetts Polls show that Obama is leading McCain by 16 % points, in the presidential race, in the Bay State.

According to the MA opinion polls, Obama has been leading in the state since June, and he has well maintained his lead in the current opinion polls, conducted by American Research Group, and Survey USA. Let’s check out what the current McCain vs Obama Massachusetts polls say.

The 20th Boston Marathon Jimmy Fund Walk received an overwhelming response from enthusiastic participants who contributed their bit towards fight against cancer.

Nearly 8000 people participated in the event organized by Hyundai Motor America. The walkers had a variety of routes to choose from according to the variation in distance - 13.1 miles, 5 miles, 3 miles, etc.  The longest one was a 26.2 miles.

The organizers hope to raise over $7.2 million through the Walk. The collections are utilized for cancer research at Dana Farber Cancer Institute.  Supporters can also make online donations.  

Compared to 2007, people from New England states except Vermont had fewer poor air quality days and as a result, they breathed easier this summer.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says summer 2008 had 28-days as compared to 53-days when ozone monitors recorded concentrations above health standards.

Five of the region’s six states had fewer poor air quality days between April and September compared to the same period last year.

Approximately 8000 people walked the Boston Marathon Course to aid cancer research and care. According to organizers of the Marathon, the aim was to raise $7.2 million for Dana- Farber Cancer Institute.

Participants had the option to choose route according to convenience. Some chose to trek 26.2 mile Boston Marathon Course, while others chose half the marathon course from Hopkinton to Wellesley, still others selected a 5 mile or 3 mile walk to Boston.

MinuteClinic, a CVS Caremark Corp. subsidiary opened the state's first clinic in a CVS store in Medway, Massachusetts with 27 other such planned clinics to open in the coming months statewide and 100 overall. The state's first retail-style health clinic aims to provide quality care at low costs for minor ailments and vaccinations and currently the company has nearly 500 in-store clinics in 25 other states.