Latest science news in Health & Medicine
H1N1 clinic in high demand before closure
Throngs of people crowded Toronto's Metro Hall H1N1 vaccination clinic Sunday afternoon in a last minute attempt to get their shots before all five of the city's clinics closed for...
Bacteria provide new insights into human decision making
Scientists studying how bacteria under stress collectively weigh and initiate different survival strategies say they have gained new insights into how humans make strategic decisions that affect their health, wealth...
Fatty food can weaken the immune system
Fresh evidence that fatty food is bad for our health has come to light: mice fed a lard-based diet over a long period got worse at fighting bacteria in the...
Quebec to close vaccination centres
Quebec will close its vaccination centres on Friday, Dec. 18 as a result of a dropping demand, Health Minister Yves Bolduc said Thursday.
CDC: About 1 in 6 Americans have had swine flu
(AP) -- Health officials now estimate that swine flu has sickened nearly 50 million Americans and killed nearly 10,000.
Study confirms association between tobacco smoke and behavioral problems in children
Children who are exposed to tobacco smoke during their early development can develop abnormal behavioral symptoms by the age of 10 years, according to a new study.
New gene therapy and stem cells save limbs
BALTIMORE, Dec. 9 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists say they have developed an experimental therapy that eliminates blood vessel blockage associated with old age or diabetes.
Epilepsy Patients Are Given New Hope With Brain Implant
(PhysOrg.com) -- A startup company, Neuropace in Mountain View Ca., has developed a device that offers new hope for epilepsy patients. The device is designed to neutralize the abnormal electrical...
Testosterone 'breeds fair play'
Giving testosterone to women can make them play more fairly, but only if they are oblivious to the treatment, tests suggest.
Supportive materials will help regenerate heart tissue
Bioengineers from University of California, San Diego are developing new regenerative therapies for heart disease. The work could influence the way in which regenerative therapies for cardiovascular and other diseases...
Spontaneous liver rupture in a patient with peliosis hepatis
Peliosis hepatis (PH) is a rare pathological entity. PH varies from minimal asymptomatic lesions to larger massive lesions that may present with cholestasis, liver failure, portal hypertension, avascular mass lesion,...
Most antidepressants miss key target of clinical depression, study finds
Most current antidepressants do not address a key brain chemical, monoamine oxidase-A, according to a new study.
Human umbilical stem cells cleared mice's cloudy eyes
New research from the University of Cincinnati (UC) may help in the recovery of lost vision for patients with corneal scarring.
Value of Tamiflu for regular flu questioned
There is no clear evidence that Tamiflu prevents certain complications of flu in otherwise healthy adults, according to a new review.
New international study targets rare cancer bringing hope for advanced thymic cancer patients
Dec. 8, 2009 - The Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) and Scottsdale Healthcare are testing a new drug specifically for thymic cancer based on early promising results at Scottsdale...
Rapid cardiac biomarker testing system developed by Singapore scientists
Scientists at Singapore's Institute of Microelectronics (IME) have developed a rapid and sensitive integrated system to test simultaneously for specific cardiac biomarkers in finger prick amount of blood.
Small addition to cancer drug may make big difference
The addition of a small molecule to the cancer drug Temozolomide disrupts repair mechanisms in a type of tumor cells that is highly resistant to treatment.
H1N1 influenza adopted novel strategy to move from birds to humans
The 2009 H1N1 virus, which ignited a worldwide "swine flu" panic earlier this year, used a novel strategy to cross from birds into people, scientists have found. The finding could...
Baby hammock beds recalled after 2 deaths
Two infant deaths have led to the recall of about 24,000 Amby Baby Motion Beds marketed to parents of fussy babies with colic or reflux.
Autologous stem cell transplantation for soft tissue sarcoma: insufficient research into therapy
Due to a lack of suitable studies, it is unclear whether patients with soft tissue sarcoma can benefit from autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplantation. With this type of therapy, some...
'Shoot-'em-up' video game increases teenagers' science knowledge
While navigating the microscopic world of immune system proteins and cells to save a patient suffering from a raging bacterial infection, young teenage players of the "Immune Attack" video game...
MDs to get guide for opioid prescriptions
Guidelines are in the works to help family doctors stem the growing number of deaths caused by narcotic painkillers such as OxyContin.
Cut Out the (Estrogen) Middleman
Estrogen has a dual role in brain as a hormone and, indirectly, as a neurotransmitter, according to PNAS study which suggests a strategy for replacing hormone therapy.
William Ganz obituary
Cardiologist and co-inventor of the Swan-Ganz catheterWilliam Ganz, who has died aged 90, was the co-inventor, with Jeremy Swan, of the Swan-Ganz balloon catheter, which brought simplicity and safety to a previously hazardous...
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Establishes International Vaccine Access Center
The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has established the International Vaccine Access Center (IVAC) to increase access to lifesaving vaccines by overcoming many of the obstacles that often...
Mexico 'lacks incentive' to boost patents
Experts say that Mexico has one of the lowest patenting rates in the region, citing a lack of funding and a poor innovation culture as the main reasons.
More H1N1 cases reported in Nunavut
The number of swine flu cases in Nunavut continues to rise, but Health Minister Tagak Curley says it doesn't necessarily mean a second flu wave is underway.
Children's brain tumour clue found in genome
An international study that included doctors at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children appears to shed new light on a particular type of brain tumour in children that often proves deadly.