Latest science news in Health & Medicine
Cull 'not good deal' for taxpayer
The badger cull in England will cost the taxpayer much more than it saves, an analysis by a UK expert suggests.
Early exposure to cigarette smoke leads to greater risk for respiratory disease
New research reveals cigarette smoke adversely affects the developing human airway, especially in prematurity. Fetuses and premature babies exposed to cigarette smoke are at greater risk for developing childhood respiratory...
Football (soccer) scores a health hat trick for hypertensive men
Playing football (soccer) could be the best way for people with high blood pressure (hypertension) to improve their fitness and normalize their blood pressure, according to new research.
Antibiotic contamination a threat to humans and the environment
Researchers from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, spend August in Sisimiut on the west coast of Greenland studying the prevalence of antibiotic resistance and the effects of antibiotic emissions on...
Indoor mould's toxicity explained
A team of researchers at the University of Helsinki has discovered how indoor mould makes people sick. The only remedy is to heal the living environment.
The Orionid meteor shower
Usually, waking up before sunrise is a good way to get a head start on the day. On Oct. 21st, waking up early could stop you in your tracks.
AP Impact: Feds muff kid jewelry cadmium crackdown
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Federal regulators failed to pursue recalls after they found cadmium-tainted jewelry on store shelves, despite their vow to keep the toxic trinkets...
Leap of Faith: 5 Ways Skydiving 120,000 Feet Can Kill You
Skydiver prepares for the dangers of high-altitude jumps.
New psychiatric drugs low priority for pharmaceutical firms
The pharmaceutical industry has largely abandoned drug development for mental illnesses even though depression is a leading cause of disability, experts say.
Condom use drops when young women use hormonal contraceptives
Young women who start using hormonal contraceptives for birth control often stop using condoms, but a new study finds that if they later discontinue using hormonal contraceptives, they tend not...
7 advisers resign at embattled Texas cancer agency
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- At least seven scientists resigned in protest this week from Texas' embattled $3 billion cancer-fighting program, claiming the agency created with the...
Paralyzed B.C. teen gets apology for long surgery wait
Report says health-care system failed two Okanagan teens who desperately needed spinal surgery.
Experience: a head injury made me a musical prodigy
'I just moved over and started playing the piano – like I'd been doing it all my life'It was fairly typical of me to imagine I could dive into the shallow end...
Wine: an age-old problem
As we get older, our palate changes, so what's a wine lover to do?I was talking to a wine buyer the other day about my dislike of high-alcohol reds. "Some people love...
Closing the care gap
If a jetliner carrying 260 African-Americans crashed every day for a year, the toll would approximate the impact of unequal access to health care and the resulting poorer health outcomes on the nation’s...
BeerSci: A Mild Beer For Surviving A Marathon, The Holidays Or Anything, Really
Homebrew! Martha Harbison/ Flickr Our trusty BeerScientist introduces a recipe for the Mild Marathon ale, using some of the year's most plentiful hops. A "mild" is a type of ale first produced in...
Kidney grafts function longer in Europe than in the United States
Kidney transplants performed in Europe are considerably more successful in the long run than those performed in the United States. Researchers have described the large discrepancy for the first time,...
FOR KIDS: Risk-taking linked to Ritalin
People who inappropriately take the prescription drug to become more alert may also become more reckless
1st West Nile death since 2007 confirmed in Alberta
Alberta Health Services has confirmed the first death from West Nile virus since 2007.
Molecular basis of infection of tick-transmitted disease uncovered
Researchers have identified the "keys" and "doors" of a bacterium responsible for a series of tick-transmitted diseases. These findings may point researchers toward the development of a single vaccine that...
FDA regulation of pharmacies has knotty history
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The deadly meningitis outbreak linked to contaminated pain injections has prompted calls for tighter federal regulation of compounding pharmacies, which have periodically been...
Curcumin curbs metastases
Powdered turmeric has been used for centuries to treat osteoarthritis and other illnesses. Its active ingredient, curcumin, inhibits inflammatory reactions. [...]
Comic opens set for ages: 'Hello. I have cancer.'
NEW YORK (AP) -- A frightfully nervous Tig Notaro stood just offstage at the Los Angeles club Largo while Ed Helms introduced her....
What do cyclists need to see to avoid single-bicycle crashes?
Crashes are an unfortunate fact of life for many traveling on roads and bicycle paths, but how and why they happen is not always well understood. New research shows that...
Mental illness treatment lacking in Thunder Bay, activist says
A mental health advocate in Thunder Bay says the regional hospital needs to pay as much attention to fighting depression as it does to finding tumors.
New gene test flags risk of serious complications in sarcoidosis
Researchers have identified a genetic signature that distinguishes patients with complicated sarcoidosis, an inflammatory lung disease that can be fatal, from patients with a more benign form of the disease.
Stem-cell transplant claims debunked
Transplant of induced pluripotent stem cells to treat heart failure probably never happened.Nature News doi: 10.1038/nature.2012.11584
Japan's TEPCO admits downplaying tsunami risk
The operator of the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant on Friday admitted it had played down the risks of a tsunami to the facility for fear of the financial and regulatory...