Latest science news in Health & Medicine
New method of predicting response to chemotherapy in bowel cancer
Scientists have developed a new method of predicting which patients with bowel (colorectal) cancer will respond effectively to chemotherapy.
Standard written checklists can improve patient safety during surgical crises
When hospital operating room staff follow a written safety checklist to respond to a medical crisis during surgery, they are nearly 75 percent less likely to miss a critical clinical...
Melanoma-diagnosis smartphone apps 'have potential to harm'
Smartphone applications used to assess photos of skin lesions classified at least 30 per cent of melanomas incorrectly as benign, say doctors who warn against using the apps.
Fecal transplants successful in treating intestinal ailment
An infusion of feces from a healthy person is much more effective than an antibiotic in treating C. difficile , a recurrent intestinal infection, researchers find.A new study has...
Mindfulness meditation may relieve chronic inflammation
People suffering from chronic inflammatory conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease and asthma — in which psychological stress [...]
2009 Swine Flu Pandemic Vaccination Did Not Increase Risk Of Fetal Death
Pregnant women who were vaccinated against pandemic influenza in 2009 were not at increased risk of experiencing fetal death, though pregnant women who contracted influenza had an increased risk of...
Flublok, a Flu Vaccine, Wins F.D.A. Approval
The vaccine, called Flublok, can be ready more quickly in the event of a pandemic and, unlike current vaccines, will be an option for those allergic to eggs.
Malaria, typhoid -- not Ebola -- biggest health threat for travelers to tropics
Feeling feverish after a visit to the tropics? It may not just be a bout with this year's flu. If you're a Western traveler, malaria and typhoid fever should top...
Looking at a cure for AIDS
An Australian scientist has developed a protein that turns the HIV virus against itself and stops its spread.
More evidence of crustacean pain
Scientists find further evidence that crabs and other crustaceans feel pain and then take steps to avoid it.
Antenatal care has health benefits
Researchers explain the long- and short-term health benefits of antenatal care in a new study.
News Summary: Surge of rare disease drugs in tests
NEW HOPE: Drugmakers have been shifting much of their research money away from pills for the millions to rare, often-deadly diseases with few or no treatment options. Nearly 30 million...
Well: Ask Well: Do I Need a Flu Shot if I've Had the Flu?
Donald G. McNeil, Jr. , a science reporter for The New York Times, responds to a reader question about whether you need a flu shot if you've already had the...
Study Links Segregation and Lung Cancer Deaths in Blacks
The study was the first to look at segregation as a factor in lung cancer mortality. Its authors said they could not fully explain why it worsens the odds of...
Flu vaccine about 45% effective this year, doctors say
This season's flu vaccine in Canada is about 45 per cent effective, early data from doctor's offices suggest.
New Mechanism Discovery: How A Parasite Causes Cancer
About 200 million people across 75 of the poorest countries in the world are now infected by the blood parasite Schistosoma haematobium (S. haematobium). The infection causes severe urogenital disease, but also...
Slower growth of preterm infants linked to altered brain development
Preterm infants who grow more slowly as they approached what would have been their due dates also have slower development in an area of the brain called the cerebral cortex,...
Rare Baby Gibbon Born at Bronx Zoo
The adorable newborn is first white-cheeked gibbon born at the New York zoo since 2000.
Faecal transplants succeed in clinical trial
Unorthodox technique is far more effective than antibiotics at treating recurrent gut infection.Nature News doi: 10.1038/nature.2013.12227
Researchers Attack HIV's Final Defenses Before Drug-Resistant Mutations Emerge
With a new $3.4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, the University of Missouri is leading a team of researchers who want to stay a step ahead of...
Concussions May Boost Football Players' Depression Risk
Brain damage from concussions may increase the risk of depression.
Physicists Measure The Real Age of Skin
'Virtual biopsy' technique may help assess effectiveness of skin products.
FREE Brain Health Fair Coming to San Diego to Help Patients and Families
Patients and families affected by brain diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, stroke, and Parkinson's disease, as well as the general public interested in brain health, are invited to register for...
Row over reports on bee-bothering insecticides
Syngenta brands risk assessment ‘hurried and inadequate’.Nature News doi: 10.1038/nature.2013.12234
Somewhat less neglected tropical diseases
A year on from the unprecedented gathering of Big Pharma bosses in London, where they promised to help eliminate neglected tropical diseases, two reports suggest progress has indeed been made - but it...
Light exposure during pregnancy key to normal eye development
New research concludes the eye -- which depends on light to see -- also needs light to develop normally during pregnancy. Scientists say the unexpected finding offers a new basic...
Too Fat Or Too Thin: Weight Extremes In The Developing World
While the developed world gets all of the attention for obesity, the developing world is only different in one sense; they retain more severely undernourished people even while obese and...
Robot allows 'remote presence' in programming brain and spine stimulators
With the rapidly expanding use of brain and spinal cord stimulation therapy (neuromodulation), new "remote presence" technologies may help to meet the demand for experts to perform stimulator programming, reports...