Latest science news in Health & Medicine
Mutated Polio Virus Breaches Vaccine Protection
Thanks to effective vaccination, polio is nearly eradicated and only a few hundred people are stricken worldwide each year. But researchers in PNAS have reported alarming findings: a mutated virus was...
Rates of heart disease, stroke continue to decline in Europe
Deaths from heart disease and stroke are declining overall in Europe, but at differing rates, according to research, which provides an update for 2014 on the burden of cardiovascular disease...
The New Street Drug to Watch: Acetyl Fentanyl
Emergency doctors may soon see more cases of what appears to be a heroin overdose but is actually related to the deadly and relatively new designer drug acetyl fentanyl, a...
Innate lymphoid cells elicit T cell responses
In case of an inflammation, the body releases substances that increase the immune defense. During chronic inflammation, this immune response gets out of control and can induce organ damage. A...
Proteins critical to wound healing identified
Mice missing two important proteins of the vascular system develop […]
New mouse model points to therapy for liver disease
A novel mouse model that closely resembles human NASH has been described by researchers. They use it to demonstrate that interference with a key inflammatory protein inhibits both the development...
Blood pressure medication does not cause more falls, study shows
It's time to question the common belief that patients receiving intensive blood pressure treatment are prone to falling and breaking bones. A comprehensive study in people ages 40 to 79...
Aspirin, take two: Research identifies a second effect of the drug against inflammation
Aspirin has a second effect, researchers have found: Not only does it kill cyclooxygenase, thus preventing production of the prostaglandins that cause inflammation and pain, it also prompts the enzyme...
Crucial step in DNA repair identified by researchers
A crucial step in DNA repair that could lead to targeted gene therapy for hereditary diseases such as 'children of the moon' and a common form of colon cancer has...
Why aren't pregnant women getting flu vaccine?
Both mother and fetus are at increased risk for complications of flu infection during pregnancy. And prenatal care providers say they're advising women to get the flu vaccine, in line...
Device monitors key step in development of tumor metastases
A microfluidic device may help study key steps in the process by which cancer cells break off from a primary tumor to invade other tissues and form metastases. "This device...
Selective therapy may improve artery repair after interventional cardiovascular procedures
A new therapy may help reduce the life-threatening complications of interventional cardiovascular disease treatment. The researchers demonstrated in a rat model that the novel molecular therapy could selectively inhibit blood...
Iceland raises volcano alert level
The risk of an eruption at Iceland's Bardarbunga volcano has increased, as well as the risk level to the aviation industry, meteorologists say.
How a promising new drug may help combat baldness caused by alopecia
A cure for patchy baldness may be on the way, according to a new study published Sunday in the journal Nature Medicine.
Consumer: Weighing Pradaxa’s Risks
Despite recent sharp criticism and a $650 million settlement, hundreds of thousands of consumers with atrial fibrillation continue to take the blood thinner.
Debbie Reynolds to receive SAG lifetime achievement honor
Karen ButlerLOS ANGELES, Aug. 18 (UPI) -- Actor, singer, dancer and author Debbie Reynolds has been named the 51st recipient of the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award.
Abortion Myths Cross Political Lines
Americans living in politically liberal states and those in conservative states have an equally low understanding of abortion's health effects and the laws regarding the procedure, a new national survey...
HPV vaccine protection lasts at least eight years
Immunization shields children from human papillomavirus infection for nearly a decade.
Whooping cough vaccination longevity under the microscope at IWK
Researchers at the IWK are investigating whether all adults should be given whooping cough vaccinations every 10 years.
Hospital operator reveals cyberattack on patient records
Community Health, which owns, leases or operates 206 hospitals in 29 states, says the attack may have happened in April or June
White, straight women leading surge in infertility treatments
Heterosexual white women are twice as likely as racial or sexual minority women to obtain medical help to get pregnant, according to a recent study. While income and lack of...
Smoking during pregnancy may affect grandchildren's growth
Smoking during pregnancy has discernible effects on the growth of a woman's future grandkids, a new study shows. The "likely transgenerational effects from the grandmothers' smoking in pregnancy need to...
Invasion of Americas by mosquito-borne virus likely
While media attention has been focused recently on coronavirus cases in the Arabian peninsula and the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, experts note that another threat lies in the spread...
Pigs' hearts transplanted into baboon hosts remain viable more than a year
Investigators have successfully transplanted hearts from genetically engineered piglets into baboons' abdomens and had the hearts survive for more than one year, twice as long as previously reported. This was...
500 million year reset for immune system
A single factor can reset the immune system of mice to a state likely similar to what it was 500 million years ago, when the first vertebrates emerged. The model,...
USDA: Cost of raising a child reaches $250,000
Ananth BaligaWASHINGTON, Aug. 18 (UPI) -- The average U.S. middle-class family will spend nearly $250,000 to raise a child born in 2013 -- not including the cost of pregnancy, birth...
Ten-hut: New discoveries on how military organization affects civilians
Researchers are reporting new discoveries about how militarization affects the general, civilian population, and the biggest positive impact is adequate sanitation and access to education. The research led by Steve...
UN urges exit screening for Ebola at some airports
GENEVA (AP) -- The U.N. health agency is urging Ebola-affected countries to start screening all passengers leaving international airports, sea ports and major ground crossings....