Latest science news in Health & Medicine
Starch intake linked to breast cancer risk
A new study says increased carbohydrate intake is associated with a higher rate of breast cancer recurrence in survivors of the disease.
C. difficile outbreak again in Niagara hospital
The Niagara Health System has declared more C. difficile infections in one of its hospitals in southern Ontario, less than two months after the last outbreak.
Genes modify the risk of liver disease among alcoholics
It has been widely observed that only a small percentage of alcoholics develop cirrhosis of the liver, the most advanced form of alcoholic liver disease (ALD); the reason why all...
Ski helmets to be mandatory in N.S.
The Nova Scotia government plans to pass a law requiring all skiers to wear helmets.
Stroke: Restructuring the brain
(Medical Xpress) -- Neuroscientists are exploring the structural changes in the brains white and grey matter that underlie learning. Understanding the precise cellular nature of those changes may improve diagnosis...
Blood protein EPO involved in origin and spread of cancer
Researchers have demonstrated that a growth hormone, PDGF-BB, and the blood protein EPO are involved in the development of cancer tumors and that they combine to help the tumors proliferate...
Veterinarians find infections faster by monitoring blood compound; Blood test for dogs could lead to similar human test
In pets and people, the time it takes to diagnose an infection may mean life or death. Now, a veterinarian is identifying ways to diagnose pet infections in approximately a...
How muscle fatigue originates in the head
The extent to which we are able to activate our muscles voluntarily depends on motivation and will power or the physical condition and level of fatigue of the muscles, for instance. The...
Preoperative aspirin therapy can benefit cardiac surgery patients, study finds
Aspirin taken within five days of cardiac surgery is associated with a significant decrease in the risk of major postoperative complications, including renal failure, a lengthy intensive care unit stay...
A more ethical way to compare epilepsy treatments
For the first time, a new research methodology recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration has been used to demonstrate that converting patients from one anti-epileptic drug to another...
Most snakebite victims consult traditional healers
Fatal snakebites are a bigger-than-acknowledged global health problem that has been vastly under-reported, according to research presented today at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and...
Funding models not associated with better preventive care delivery
Female physicians, smaller patient loads and electronic reminders are associated with better delivery of preventive health care to patients, rather than the way in which primary care practices are funded,...
UK Researchers Awarded CDC Grant to Study Cancer Survival in Appalachia
University of Kentucky researchers recently received a $225,000 grant to study the differences in cancer survival in Appalachia.
Plasma-based treatment goes viral
Life-threatening viruses such as HIV, SARS, hepatitis and influenza, could soon be combatted in an unusual manner as researchers have demonstrated the effectiveness of plasma for inactivating and preventing the...
Good works, and fine experience
For people without adequate health care, a simple trip to the dentist can be life altering. Lisa Simon found that out last summer while visiting underserved populations in western Massachusetts as part of...
Science Academies at Odds Over New Law in Montenegro
A new law in Montenegro aimed at strengthening science and innovation for development has...
American first: A patient treated with a disappearing heart device
The interventional cardiology team at the Montreal Heart Institute (MHI) used the world's first drug eluting bioresorbable vascular scaffold to successfully treat a woman suffering from coronary artery disease. This...
Oxidative stress: Less harmful than suspected?
Arterial calcification and coronary heart disease, neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's, cancer and even the aging process itself are suspected to be partially caused or accelerated by oxidative...
Healthy piglets? Not with sulfonamides
Recent work from the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna confirms that sulfonamides can be used to control coccidiosis in piglets, although not without considerable effort and expense. In contrast, the...
Most People Would Kill 1 Person to Save 5 Others
Nine out of 10 people would allow one person to die in order to save the lives of five other people, according to a new study.
Vaccines could be given by pharmacists
As P.E.I. gears up for flu season, pharmacists say they want to play a future role in vaccinating Islanders.
New study identifies the cause of diabetes misdiagnosis among Asian Americans
Researchers at Joslin Diabetes Center have determined key differences between Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes in the Asian American population. This study, published today in PLoS ONE, identified ways...
Regeneration of specialized cells offers hope for treating chronic kidney disease
Damage to podocytes -- a specialized type of epithelial cell in the kidney -- occurs in more than 90 percent of all chronic kidney disease. Now researchers at the Stanford...
Debate over $6B Los Alamos nuke lab
Activists question whether facility for plutonium research is needed, or safe; Warn gov't ignoring example of Fukushima
A brighter future for infertility treatment: study
(Medical Xpress) -- Male infertility could soon have a boost through new treatments at a sub-DNA 'epigenetic' level, according to researchers from The Australian National University.
Patient receives first prescription for FDA-approved brain tumor treatment
(Medical Xpress) -- The University of Illinois Hospital is the first center in North America to prescribe a new FDA-approved treatment for patients with the most common and aggressive type...
FDA to Approve New Generics, But Health Care Savings Will Be Minimal
In 1984 the Hatch-Waxman Act made it cheaper and easier to put generic versions of a drug on the market. As a result of the expedited approval process, generics now...
Scientists expose important new weak spot in cancer cells
(Medical Xpress) -- Cancer Research UK scientists have discovered that cancer cells can bag up and bin a toxic protein to cheat death revealing a new Achilles heel in...