Latest science news in Health & Medicine
Newer type of radiation for prostate cancer recommended, experts say
A review of existing research suggests that while a newer type of radiation for the treatment of prostate cancer does not help patients live longer compared to an older type...
Global Update: India: Ambitious Study Indicates Malaria Deaths May Be Underreported Across the World
An article in The Lancet argues that malaria estimates should be revised upward for the whole world, particularly among adults.
Parent-only treatment may be equally effective for children who are obese
New research indicates that parent-only treatments for childhood obesity work equally as well as plans that include parents and child, while at the same time more cost effective and potentially...
'Lubricin' molecule discovered to reduce cartilage wear
A team of researchers in North Carolina has discovered that lubricin, a synovial fluid glycoprotein, reduces wear to bone cartilage, a result that has implications for the treatment of osteoarthritis.
Burn injuries rapidly deplete vitamin E
Severe burn injuries in children have been shown to rapidly deplete the levels of vitamin E in their body's adipose, or fat tissues, a new clinical study has found...
New tumour proteins may identify a range of cancers early
A new study led by Ohio State University cancer researchers describes a novel cancer-specific protein that is present in a broad range of cancer types and at all stages of...
Surgical aortic valve replacement should remain the standard treatment for aortic stenosis
Despite the promising results of the 'Placement of Aortic Transcatheter Valves (PARTNER) trial,' featured in the Oct. 21 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, a cardiothoracic surgeon from...
Psychologists at the forefront of weight management
Over the last few decades, the dramatic rise in paediatric obesity rates has emerged as a public health threat requiring urgent attention. The responsibility of identifying and treating eating and...
Mount Sinai researchers find potential therapeutic target across a range of cancer types
Researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine, in collaboration with investigators of the National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM) of France led by Nicolae Ghinea, PhD, have found...
Dopamine model could play role in treating schizophrenia and drug addiction
In the brain, dopamine is involved in a number of processes that control the way we behave. If an action results in the substance being released, we are more likely...
A redeeming role for a common virus
A common virus that can cause coughing and mild diarrhoea appears to have a major redemptive quality: the ability to kill cancer. Harnessing that power, researchers at Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive...
Girls with ovarian germ-cell tumours can safely skip chemotherapy unless disease recurs
Researchers from Dana-Farber/Children's Hospital Cancer Centre (DF/CHCC) have found that as many as 50 percent of young girls treated for germ-cell ovarian tumours might safely be spared chemotherapy using a...
Study identifies barriers to successful treatment of children with sarcoma in low-income countries
Raising the survival rate of children with sarcoma in low-income countries will require steps to diagnose the disease sooner, train cancer pathologists, expand radiation therapy services, create multi-speciality teams to...
Thyroid cancer radiation triggers alarms
Reports of thyroid cancer patients setting off radiation alarms and contaminating hotel rooms are prompting the agency in charge of nuclear safety in the U.S. to consider tighter rules.
UK science spared from budget cuts
Physicists welcome government decision but flat-cash settlement could still cause damage
Exploring Africa’s success stories
Conventional wisdom has long been negative on Africa. Historically, it has been seen as a failing continent, plagued by deep-rooted problems -- poverty, corruption, war, and disease. But...
Canadian supplement use varies by income
Poor Canadians who don't get enough vitamins and minerals from food aren't making up the difference by taking supplements, a Statistics Canada report suggests.
Alberta diabetes cases could spike by 67%
Alberta could see a 67 per cent increase in the number of diabetes cases by 2020, the highest such increase in the country, the Canadian Diabetes Association warns.
3 patients harmed by N.L. drug error
Newfoundland and Labrador's largest regional health authority says three patients were harmed by drug dosage errors at one of its laboratories in St. John's.
Fat fathers affect daughters' health
Female offspring of male rats on bad diets are more likely to develop diabetes-like disease.
Obsessing over strep throat in kids: Research links obsessive-compulsive disorder to common childhood illness
While scientists have speculated on a link between obsessive-compulsive disorder and childhood infections like strep for more than two decades, a psychology researcher in Israel has now scientifically demonstrated that...
Harm reduction cigarettes can be more harmful than conventional brands, researchers report
Harm reduction cigarettes are often marketed as safer than conventional brands. But scientists have found that sidestream smoke from harm reduction cigarettes impairs growth of human embryonic stem cells more...
Scientists show TAp63 suppresses cancer metastasis
Long overshadowed by p53, its famous tumor-suppressing sibling, the p63 gene does the tougher, important job of stifling the spread of cancer to other organs, researchers at The University of...
Volatile Organic Compounds May Worsen Allergies and Asthma
Children who sleep in bedrooms containing fumes from water-based paints and solvents are two to four times more likely to suffer allergies or asthma, according to a new scientific study....
Progress toward treating infections by silencing microbes' 'smart phones'
So disease-causing bacteria in the body finally have multiplied to the point where their numbers are large enough to cause illness. What's next? They get out their "smart phones" and...
New regulator of circadian clock identified: Dopamine study may have impact on activity and sleep rhythms in Parkinson's disease
Daily sleeping and eating patterns are critical to human well-being and health. Now, a new study has demonstrated how the brain chemical dopamine regulates these cycles by altering the activity...
Wake-up call: Researchers find sleepy fibroblasts are quite lively
A surprising level of activity discovered in "sleepy" cells throughout the human body could be a key to good health.
Detecting breast cancer recurrence
Connie Krabbe understands the fear and foreboding breast cancer survivors feel when visiting their physicians for post-treatment check-ups. Two of her four sisters died of metastatic cancer related to breast...