Eurekalert.org reports that President Bush has signed another health law in the form of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2007 (H.R. 2764).

The bill includes a provision directing the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to make findings from its funded research more accessible to the public. The findings will be available through open online access. For the record, this is the first time the US government has mandated a major agency like NIH to provide public access to funded research.

I am certain this development will be greeted positively by the public. Access to valuable medical information is very important to raise people�s awareness on major health trends, issues and challenges. It is also a sure way for the rapid advancement of science. I think the benefits from this new law will be felt more dramatically by universities, medical institutions and private sector-run medical organizations as they are the ones involved in medical research and development.