Latest science news in Health & Medicine
New Vaccine Strategy Might Offer Protection Against Pandemic Influenza Strains
A novel vaccine strategy using virus-like particles could provide stronger and longer-lasting influenza vaccines with a significantly shorter development and production time than current ones, allowing public health authorities to...
Cell Phone Viruses Pose Serious Threat, Scientists Warn
If you own a computer, chances are you have experienced the aftermath of a nasty virus at some point. In contrast, there have been no major outbreaks of mobile phone...
Dying At Home: A Trend That Could Make Hospitals More Efficient
It's a common tale: a grandparent's health begins to fail and, realistically, their death is imminent. Often those older patients are rushed to hospital, taken out of their homes for...
Regulating the sugar factory in diabetes
Scientists in Sydney and Boston believe they may have identified a gene that controls abnormal production of sugar in the liver, a very troublesome problem for people with diabetes...
Early Exposure To Tobacco Smoke May Lead To Early Emphysema Later
Chronic exposure to tobacco smoke in childhood may contribute to early emphysema later in life, according to new research. Environmental tobacco smoke is known to be associated with a variety...
Aerosolized Nanoparticles Show Promise For Delivering Antibiotic Treatment
Aerosol delivery of antibiotics via nanoparticles may provide a means to improve drug delivery and increase patient compliance, thus reducing the severity of individual illnesses, the spread of epidemics, and...
MIT robotic therapy holds promise for cerebral palsy
Over the past few years, MIT engineers have successfully tested robotic devices to help stroke patients learn to control their arms and legs. Now, they're building on that work to...
Mutant genes found in childhood leukemias
MEMPHIS, May 20 (UPI) -- U.S. medical scientists say they have identified mutant genes involved in high-risk childhood leukemias, possibly leading to a new therapeutic target.
Obese moms, asthmatic kids
Babies born to obese mothers may have an increased risk of asthma, according to data from a new study presented on 19 May at the 105th International Conference of the...
High self-reported asthma rates in Chinatown, NY
Research conducted seven years after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre (WTC) in New York City (NYC) found that children attending the socioeconomically and ethnically homogeneous elementary school...
Protein critical to insulating the body's wiring could also become treatment target
A new protein identified as critical to insulating the wiring that connects the brain and body could one day be a treatment target for divergent diseases, from rare ones that...
Video: Internet captures baby elephant's first steps
May 20: Two-day-old Kai-mook took her first steps at a Belgium zoo. The baby elephant is an overnight sensation after the zoo broadcast her birth on the internet. Msnbc.com's Dara...
A new way of treating the flu
What happens if the next big influenza mutation proves resistant to the available anti-viral drugs? This question is presenting itself right now to scientists and health officials this week at...
New infectious diseases - what's the risk?
With the current outbreak of swine flu, and in the absence of a vaccine or treatment at present, the only way to contain the virus is to get people around...
Next generation of health care workers train through medical simulation
Soldiers and pilots use simulation training to learn accuracy, safety and confidence. Now, University of Missouri medical, nursing, health professions and University of Missouri- Kansas City pharmacy instructors are using...
Pandemic Passenger Screening For Airports
Four major US national laboratories have worked together to develop a computer model to help airport authorities screen passengers for pandemic influenza. The tool can help estimate false negatives, people...
'Patients will suffer' from Chalk River shutdown: medical imaging industry
The month-long shutdown of an Ontario nuclear reactor that supplies medical isotopes will lead to delays in medical treatment among patients in North America, says a spokesman for the medical...
Cream with green tea extract hinders HIV transmission: study
A chemical found in green tea helps inhibit sexual transmission of the virus which causes AIDS, said a study Tuesday that recommends using the compound in vaginal creams to supplement...
Meningococcal bacteria mechanism is found
NOTTINGHAM, England, May 19 (UPI) -- British medical scientists say they have discovered how meningococcal bacteria break through the body's natural defense system to attack the brain.
No difference in pain intensity from penetrating acupuncture needles: study
The pain relieving effects of acupuncture with penetrating and non-penetrating needles are largely the same, Japanese researchers say.
Hope for the future in the umbilical cord
Umbilical cord blood has a great potential to heal many diseases. A new research cooperation examines how to grow as many stem cells as possible that are responsible for this...
No clear evidence for which erectile dysfunction drug works best
A new report issued today by HHS' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality found that there isn't enough evidence to determine which drugs work best to treat erectile dysfunction and...
Prestigious award for 'outstanding' primary-care researcher
The 'outstanding' work of Julia Hippisley-Cox, Professor of Clinical Epidemiology and General Practice at The University of Nottingham, has been recognised by the Royal College of General Practitioners...
Surgery May Not Be Necessary For Achilles Tendon Rupture
The two ends of a ruptured Achilles tendon are often stitched together before the leg is put in plaster, in order to reduce the risk of the tendon rupturing again....
Folic Acid Effecive In Preventing Congenital Heart Defects, Canadian Research Shows
Canada's policy of fortifying grain products with folic acid has already proved to be effective in preventing neural tube defects. New research shows that folic acid also decreases the incidence...
Surprise 'Spark' For Pre-cancerous Colon Polyps
Researchers have studied the events leading to colon cancer and found that an unexpected protein serves as the "spark" that triggers formation of colon polyps, the precursors to cancerous tumors.
Cerebral Neurons Assist Adjacent Neurons
After retinal lesions, the affected cerebral neurons suddenly no longer receive input signals. However, they do remain inactive: they receive signals from neighboring cells, strengthen these and then transmit them....
Sports Drinks Trumped By Cereal and Milk
A bowl of whole-grain cereal with milk is better than designer sports drinks.