Latest science news in Health & Medicine
Unconventional hunt for new cancer targets leads to a powerful drug candidate for leukemia
Scientists have used an unconventional approach to cancer drug discovery to identify a new potential treatment for acute myeloid leukemia (AML), an aggressive blood cancer that is currently incurable in...
Colonic irrigation: is it dangerous?
A new study review suggests the popular procedure may do more harm than goodImagine, for a moment, that your job title is "colon hygienist". You would have to explain to people that...
Fatal Radiation Level Found at Japanese Plant
The high level and its location suggested the contamination occurred soon after the earthquake and tsunami in Japan in March.
Systematic osteoporosis management urged after vertebral fracture augmentation
Scientists have issued a literature review of prospective controlled studies comparing the efficacy and safety of two minimally invasive techniques for vertebral augmentation after spine fracture: vertebroplasty and balloon kyphoplasty....
Type 2 diabetes: 'Intensive' versus 'conventional' blood glucose control -- No clear picture
A new analysis has found that the risk of death and cardiovascular disease, such as stroke, remains unchanged whether glucose control is intense or conventional. Researchers did find, however, that...
DHA has protective benefits when taken during pregnancy, study suggests
A new study suggests consuming Omega 3 fatty acids during pregnancy helps protects babies against illness during early infancy. The randomized, placebo-controlled trial followed approximately 1,100 pregnant women and 900...
Insurance Coverage for Contraception Is Required
The Obama administration requires health plans to cover government-approved contraceptives for women.
Key growth factor identified in T cell leukemia
Blocking a growth factor receptor cripples cancer growth in a form of T cell leukemia, according to a study published online on August 1 in the Journal of Experimental Medicine.
Why long-term antibiotic use increases infection with a mycobacterium
The clinical outcome is improved if patients with chronic lung diseases such as cystic fibrosis are treated long-term with the antibiotic azithromycin. However, azithromycin treatment in patients with cystic fibrosis...
Nicotine can protect the brain from Parkinson's disease, research suggests
If you've ever wondered if nicotine offered society any benefit, a new study offers a surprising answer. Nicotine can protect the brain against Parkinson's disease, the research suggests, and the...
New discovery brings customized tuberculosis therapies based on genotype closer to reality
Are you genetically predisposed to tuberculosis? Scientists may now be able to answer this question and doctors may be able to adjust their therapeutic approach based on what they learn....
Examining gender disparities in injury mortality; men at exceptional risk
Men are more likely than die from injury than are women. Susan B. Sorenson, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy & Practice, has evaluated nearly...
Barrier to effective treatment for seniors -- the cost of medicine
As many as one in ten elderly people in the US, registered with Medicare, do not stick to their prescribed medication because it is too expensive, according to Dr. Larissa...
Cafe helps Alzheimer's patients
Canada's first Alzheimer's cafe in Antigonish, N.S., provides social outlet for people suffering from dementia and their families.
Report: New health care distribution model could save lives in developing countries
Each year millions of children and adults in the world's poorest countries die from lack of access to medicine and health care. A new report from Rice University's Jones Graduate...
Risk factors exposed for sudden cardiac death in post-menopausal women with coronary artery disease
A new study from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania indicates that post-menopausal women with coronary artery disease and other risk factors are at an increased...
Spiritual retreat can lower depression, raise hope in heart patients
Attending a non-denominational spiritual retreat can help patients with severe heart trouble feel less depressed and more hopeful about the future, a University of Michigan Health System study has found.
New dot com clinic treating people with OCD online
Researchers at Macquarie University are developing an innovative approach to helping people with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The team at the eCentreClinic are exploring the use of internet-based treatments to provide...
Shallow ponds cut water loss
A new, shallow pond system can reduce evaporation loss while treating wastewater, new research shows.
Using math to fight cancer
Researchers from the University of Miami (UM) and the University of Heidelberg in Germany have developed a mathematical model to understand and predict the progress of a tumor, from its...
Fish Oil Supplements in Pregnancy Boost Infants' Immunity
DHA is essential to neural development.
Revealing water's secrets
We drink it, swim in it, and our bodies are largely made of it. But as ubiquitous as water is, there is much that science still doesn't understand about this...
Beer-barrel bacteria breathe toxic brew
University of New South Wales researchers have shown that they can safely destroy hazardous industrial toxins in groundwater arising from PVC plastic production by injecting naturally occurring bacteria into a...
Study finds that mobile phone technology helps patients manage diabetes
An interactive computer software program appears to be effective in helping patients manage their Type 2 diabetes using their mobile phones, according to a new study by University of Maryland...
Experts offer pointers for optimizing radiation dose in head CT
An article in the August issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology summarizes methods for radiation dose optimization in head computed tomography (CT) scans. Head CT...
Effects of tobacco use among rural African American young adult males
Tobacco related disease is a primary source of mortality for African American men. Recent studies suggest that "alternative" tobacco products may have supplanted cigarettes as the most common products used...
Back to School: Hazards of the blackboard jungle
Germs, bullies, killer schedules and lousy lunches. What can a parent to do? Plenty, actually.No doubt, summer has its dangers for kids: its Code Red air-quality days, its risk of...
Compared with Europeans, British women are more likely to get cancer
Alcohol and obesity blamed for higher cancer rates in British women compared with their European counterpartsBritish women are nearly a fifth more likely to develop cancer at some point during their lives than...