Wash, Rinse, Dry--and Fold in Learning

The National Library of Medicine is reaching people where they live, work, play, and even do laundry.

Through the “Wash and Learn” program in Minnesota, librarians read to children stories that encourage healthy habits while their parents learn how to use MedlinePlus to find quality health information.

“The Wash and Learn program was a pilot project funded by our Greater Midwest Region within the National Network of Libraries of Medicine and developed in partnership with Libraries without Borders,” said Amanda J. Wilson, head of NLM’s National Network Coordinating Office. Wilson leads NLM’s National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NNLM), a network of health science libraries and information centers across the country.

Dietary Supplement Label Database from NIH

The Dietary Supplement Label Database (DSLD) includes full label derived information from dietary supplement products marketed in the U.S. with a Web-based user interface that provides ready access to label information. It was developed to serve the research community and as a resource for health care providers and the public. It can be an educational and research tool for students, academics, and other professionals.

Clinical trial testing topical cream plus influenza vaccine in progress

A Phase 1 clinical trial examining whether a topical cream can enhance the immune response conferred by a “pre-pandemic” influenza vaccine is underway at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. Investigators are evaluating whether imiquimod cream, which is commonly used to treat genital warts and certain skin cancers, can boost the body’s immune response to an H5N1 influenza vaccine. The trial is enrolling 50 healthy adults ages 18-50 years. Baylor is one of the Vaccine and Treatment Evaluation Units (VTEUs) — a network of clinical research sites that can rapidly enroll large volunteer cohorts to evaluate experimental vaccines against infectious diseases. The VTEUs are funded and managed by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health.