Latest science news in Health & Medicine
Heart failure patients with depression have four times risk of death
Moderate-to-severe depression quadruples the death rate among heart failure patients. Patients who have heart failure and are also moderately or severely depressed are twice as likely to go the emergency...
Community approach effective in fight against diabetes
New research shows that a diabetes prevention program led by community health workers is effective at reducing blood glucose and potentially reducing diabetes over the long term.
Despite Physician Advice, Parents Refuse HPV Vaccine
A new survey shows that more parents say they don't intend to vaccinate their teen against HPV, despite the fact that more doctors are recommending the vaccine.
New study evaluates incidence and mortality of prostate cancer after termination of PSA-based screening
Men who participate in biennial PSA based screening have a lower risk of being diagnosed as well as dying from prostate cancer up to 9 years after their last PSA...
White blood cells found to play key role in controlling red blood cell levels
Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have found that macrophages – white blood cells that play a...
New study points to the aggressive potential of small kidney tumors, advocates treatment
Small kidney tumors have an aggressive potential and should be treated, according to a the results of a large multicenter study.
Novel drug delivery system releases drugs in response to compression by the patient's hand
Medical researchers have succeeded in developing a gel material which is capable of releasing drugs in response to pressure applied by the patient.
Antibiotic resistance: why we must win the war against superbugs
Antibiotic-resistant bacteria kill far more people each year globally than terrorism. Why are we losing the battle against them, asks one doctorLast week, Dame Sally Davies, the chief medical officer of England, likened...
Climate change cut from national curriculum for children up to 14
Exclusive: New draft guidelines for key stages 1 to 3 criticised by scientists for 'abdicating duty to future generations'Debate about climate change has been cut out of the national curriculum for children under...
Colleges say federal cuts could cause brain drain
At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, faculty fret about the future of the school's Plasma Science and Fusion Center. Thirty miles (fifty kilometers) away, administrators at the state university campus...
How long have you got?
Sometimes you can give yourself special dispensation for breaking all the rulesA question asked of the first agony aunt – who was actually an agony uncle named John Dunton – was why an hour's sermon seemed longer...
Opinionator | Bedside: Healing the Hospital Hierarchy
When doctors and nurses don’t get along, it’s the patient who suffers.
Tau transmission model opens doors for new Alzheimer's, Parkinson's therapies
Injecting synthetic tau fibrils into animal models induces Alzheimer's-like tau tangles and imitates the spread of tau pathology, according to new research.
Rapid rise in antipsychotic treatment of medicaid-insured children
More benefit/risk information is needed in community care efforts, says a researcher.
Drug-resistant MRSA bacteria: Here to stay in both hospital and community
The drug-resistant bacteria known as MRSA, once confined to hospitals but now widespread in communities, will likely continue to exist in both settings as separate strains, according to a new...
Letters: Deaths at Mid Staffs
Geoffrey Wheatcroft is but the latest to claim that over 1,000 patients were killed by staff at Mid Staffordshire hospital (Comment, 13 March). As Robert Francis made clear in his first report: "It...
Manipulation of NHS figures to become criminal offence
Health secretary will announce move after Mid Staffordshire scandal to make service more 'honest and accountable'Fiddling figures from NHS hospitals will become a criminal offence, Jeremy Hunt, the health secretary, is to announce.The...
Motor neurone disease: a way to say goodbye
When she was given three to five years to live, Susan Spencer-Wendel decided to give up her 'autopilot life' for something more inspiring. Sabine Durrant talks to her husband, John, about how the...
Health adviser claims ignored NHS hospital warnings cost 20,000 lives
Sir Brian Jarman says he sent former health secretary Andy Burnham a list of hospitals with higher-than-average death rates but no action was takenMore than 20,000 lives could have been saved if government...
L.A. runner to mark 52nd marathon in a year to fight cancer
Julie Weiss lost her father to pancreatic cancer in 2010. Now she has a goal of running 52 more races, for her father and many others, to reach the $1-million...
North Dakota Approves Bill to Ban Abortions as Early as 6 Weeks
Shortly after Arkansas adopted the country’s most stringent abortion limits, North Dakota’s Legislature approved a bill blocking the procedure as early as six weeks into pregnancy.
Alberta doctors want arbitration in contract dispute
The association representing Alberta's doctors says it want to go to arbitration after failed contract negotiations with the province.
Monitoring your vitals with a webcam
You may have used a webcam on your computer to make a video call. Someday that same camera - or one like it - might help doctors monitor your health.
France to investigate Skype's legal status
PARIS, March 15 (UPI) -- French prosecutors say they will investigate the Internet call service Skype for failing to register as a telecommunications company under French laws.
Letters: Eugenics fear over gene modification
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority is considering whether to recommend legalisation of "mitochondrial replacement" techniques designed to avoid the transmission of mitochondrial diseases (Report, 17 September 2012). We believe the benefits to...
Coronavirus: Is this the next pandemic?
Last September a doctor in a Saudi hospital was fired for reporting a new, deadly strain of the coronavirus. Now, with half of all confirmed cases ending in death, the World Health Organisation has issued...
Coronavirus victim's widow tells of grief as scientists scramble for treatment
Azima Hussain's husband Khalid was first person in UK to die of new Sars-like diseaseThe widow of the first person to die of a deadly new Sars-like virus in the UK has...
Polio treatment pioneer Perry dies
DOWNEY, Calif., March 15 (UPI) -- Dr. Jacquelin Perry, who pioneered surgery that helped paralyzed polio survivors regain mobility, has died in California, colleagues said. She was 94.