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It's a horrific disease, but one that may be going to the history books soon.
Scottish researchers have found a way to make cancer cells get "addicted" to self-destruction.
The Zika virus that created an international state of emergency just got more scarier: apparently, it can be sexually transmitted. Such a case was reported in the US.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recently declared a state of emergency following the Zika outbreak in South America. The virus was thought to be almost benign and doesn’t cause big problems. Hospitalization is almost never necessary, but Zika provided a nasty surprise. It became obvious that the disease causes birth defects such as microcephaly… but […]
The Zika outbreak in South America is spreading more and more, reaching pandemic levels.
A few days ago, the health minister in Colombia warned that the country is extremely vulnerable to the Zika virus that’s spreading like wildfire through South America. He was right, as it turns out. Over 2100 pregnant Colombian women are already infected, as Zika has already been confirmed in 23 countries and territories in the Americas […]
The thymus is one of those under appreciated organs you just don’t hear much about. Sitting in your chest, just in front of your heart, the thymus is at its largest and most active during infancy and childhood. By adulthood, the thymus has shrunk to practically nothing, being mostly replaced by fat. It plays an […]
A team at University of British Columbia claims that a type of clay found northwest of Vancouver is effective against a dangerous class of drug-resistant bacteria. The clay investigated by the Canadian researchers destroyed the ESKAPE germs, in some instances in less than 5 hours. Furthermore, the clay is completely natural and no toxic side-effects have been reported thus far.
Scientific American recently reported that the three countries most affected by dengue fever have approved the use of the first vaccine against this affliction. Officials from Mexico, Philippines and Brazil hope that this will curb the nearly 400 million new infections each year, 22,000 of which result in death.
Antibiotics have potentially saved more lives than any other human invention. But bugs are catching on...
Careful with your diet, dads!
The mosquito-borne Zika virus seems to have spread from Brazil to Colombia, as more than 13,500 people are already infected.
In an unfortunate turn of events, a new Ebola fatality has been reported just hours after West Africa was declared Ebola-free.
Johns Hopkins researchers have discovered a method that allows them to coax stem cells to morph into retinal ganglion cells. This type of nerve cells reside in the retina and transmit visual input from the eyes to the brain. If these cells become damaged or die vision-loss conditions develop, such as glaucoma or multiple sclerosis.
The government has declared a state of emergency in the most affected areas while scientists are trying to figure out why so many babies are born with this often lethal condition.
Schistosoma mansoni might not as famous as other nasty parasitic worms like flatworms or roundworms, but outside the U.S. this pesky bugger infests more than 200 million people. Symptoms range from rash to organ damage to paralysis. For years, patients have had to rely on drugs that ward off the infection, but for remote or communities in the developing world this may be out of the question. There's a widely available remedy found almost anywhere in the world though, according to Egyptian researchers. And it's so cheap that it literally grows in the ground: garlic.
Joy Milne's husband was diagnosed with Parkinson's when he was 45, but she felt something was off a few months earlier.
Thousands of babies are being born with brain damage due to a mosquito-borne virus.
The Australian government wants to eliminate hepatitis C within one generation - a 'miracle drug' with a price tag of $100,000 will be provided at a cost of only $37.70
With robots taking up all the factory jobs and CEO's outsourcing each and any position they can to China, it's harder and harder for the common bloke to find a job these days. And it's only about to get worse as pigeons are now poised to take over the health industry positions for the price of bread crumbs.
A study of 986 Bolivian women found that on average, a lifetime infection with a type of roundworm named Ascarius lumbricoides led to an extra two children in the family. Their paper, published in the journal Science, suggests that the worm is altering the host's immune system, making it easier to become pregnant -- in effect, the parasite increases female fertility. The researchers hope this discovery will lead to "novel fertility enhancing drugs."
Researchers may have found a much needed weapon against HIV in an unexpected place: alcoholism medication.
Scientists have genetically engineered algae to kill up to 90% of cancer cells in the lab, while leaving the healthy ones unharmed.
The blood-brain barrier has been broken for the first time in history, and this can revolutionize some areas of cancer treatment.
In a study published Monday in the journal Scientific Reports, researchers from the University of Queensland caution that the surge in scarlet fever cases may pose an unexpected threat.
When one-year-old Layla Richards, from London, was diagnosed with an aggressive strain of leukaemia, the word 'incurable' struck like a hammer.
The household goblins have just about finished their bags of Halloween candy, so let’s talk about diabetes. Some countries (Canada, New Zealand) start November with Diabetes Awareness week while the entire world is asked to remember the disease on November 14. Diabetes is a brute of a disease – causing heart disease, kidney failure, blindness, […]
In what can only be called a medical oddity, doctors in Columbia found that a man's lung tumor wasn't actually caused by human cancer cells, but those of a parasite. Apparently, due to the patient's weakened immune system, cells from the parasite leached into the rest of the body and eventually developed into cancer. This is the very first reported case of a patient sick with cancer sourced from outside the body. It's literally alien cancer.
In what could become a monumental decision, the World Health Organization has decided to roll out pilot tests for a malaria vaccine.
A preliminary study from Switzerland, published this month in the Annals of Neurology, proved the effectiveness of a new method of non-invasive brain surgery: using a newly-developed operating device that relies on ultrasound, in conjunction with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), allowed neurosurgeons to precisely remove small pieces of brain tissue in nine patients suffering from chronic pain without removing skin or skull bone. Researchers now plan to test it on patients with other disorders, such as Parkinson's. Neal Kassell, neurosurgeon at the University of Virginia, not directly involved in the study.
A research effort at Winship Cancer Institute recently identified a substance in orange lichen and rhubarb that has the potential to be used as a new anti-cancer drug. The substance, an orange pigment known as parietin or physcion, slows the growth and can even kill leukemia cells harvested from patients, without obvious toxic effects on human cells, the study authors report.
In the fight with cancer, we need any piece of help we can get. With this in mind, a group of researchers set out to investigate the animals that don't get cancer (or rarely do) - especially elephants and naked mole rats.
We've reported some good news about Ebola, after no new cases were reported for over a month, but the struggle is not over.
Researchers stumbled upon a new tool to fight cancer in a rather unexpected place; while searching for a vaccine against malaria in pregnant women, a team of Danish scientists found that, simply put, armed malaria proteins are remarkably good at killing cancer cells. They hope to have a working prototype ready for human trials within four years' time. Their discovery has been published in the scientific journal Cancer Cell.
It's the first time since March 2014 that the three African countries at the heart of the Ebola epidemic have not reported a new case of the outbreak.
For every extra 10 cm in height from the median, the chance of getting cancer increases by 11% for men and 18% for women. The link was reported by Swedish researchers at the European Society for Paediatric Endocrinology meeting in Barcelona, Spain. While other studies have reported this link, this was the largest yet performed involving 5.5 million Swedish men and women ranging in height from 1 meter (3.3 ft) to 2.25 meters (7.4 ft).
Paleontologists believe they have found the oldest evidence of the bubonic plague, embedded in a flea trapped in amber for the past 20 million years. This could provide insight onto how this devastating disease appeared and evolved.
A research team has demonstrated the effectiveness of a 3-antibiotic cocktail that kills methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, in all mice that were treated with it.
There's no cure for Alzheimer's - the devastating neurodegenerative disease which causes progressive dementia in 5.3 million Americans - only treatments that help slow down a certain outcome. A milestone research may have finally broken the dry spell in Alzheimer's research looking for the much sought after cure. While current drugs help mask symptoms, a intravenous drug developed by US researchers actually treats the disease itself with patients showing marked improvements in memory and cognition. At the brain level, new blood vessel formation and an increase in neuronal cell counts was registered. The bad news is that the Alzheimer's patients are rats and experience has taught us that Alzheimer's research seldom translates to humans. Seldom, not never though.
One of the planet's most endangered antelope, the saiga, suffered from a die-off of unprecedented scope. The massive loss of life from just a few weeks ago has conservationist groups worried about what future may hold for the species. But clues as to exactly what wiped out half of Kazakhstan's saiga are starting to emerge, and scientists are looking at bacteria that normally co-exist with the antelope host, harmlessly living in their bodies as the main culprit.
For the first time, aggressive breast, lung and bladder cancer have been neutralized and turned back to normal cells, prevented from excessive multiplication. Scientists at the Mayo Clinic in Florida, US, likened it to applying brakes to a speeding car.
The trend is clear: medicine is becoming more and more personalized. Ultimately, when you'll enter a hospital for a diagnosis or treatment, a (likely digital) doctor will use tailored solutions to address your health needs, all based on your past medical and genetic records. Considering diagnosis, just a few drops of blood will be enough to diagnose a plethora of afflictions. Take the latest news coming from the The Institute of Cancer Research in London, for instace. There, British doctors were able accurately predict which breast cancer patient will relapse next by tracking key mutations of residual cancer cells found in the blood. It's a very powerful tool - one that will probably become standard practice soon.
Scientists from the Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) and Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) have discovered a way to give antibodies the ability to fight a wide range of influenza subtypes. Their work has great potential to one day eliminate the need for repeated seasonal flu shots.
A new highly infectious diseases has been observed in tadpoles from three continents, threatening global populations. The disease, which was identified and described by British scientists, is a distant relative of an oyster disease. “Phylogenetic analyses revealed that this infectious agent was affiliated with the Perkinsea: a parasitic group within the alveolates exemplified by Perkinsus […]
A report issued by the World Health Organization and UNICEF states 2.4 billion people lack access to proper toilets. Defecating outdoors bears a significant risk to the fresh water supply and is associated with the death of 700,000 children each year which contact diseases like diarrhoeal.
Just as it seemed Ebola was gone for now, the disease starts to rear its ugly head again; a 17-year old was killed a month after Liberia was declared free of Ebola. Liberian authorities on Tuesday quarantined the Nedowein close to the capital of Monrovia, where the boy lived. The official announcement came quickly after. “Liberia […]
A long term study conducted by US researchers has found a connection between levels of DDT pesticide and breast cancer - women with high levels of DDT in their body were four times more likely to develop breast cancer.
When it comes to the appendix, things are still pretty unclear, but one thing’s for sure: if you develop appendicitis, you need surgery to have your appendix removed. But now, a new study found that antibiotics could eliminate the need for an appendectomy. The appendix is a blind-ended tube connected to the cecum. Its exact role […]
The rate of melanoma, the most dangerous form of skin cancer, has more than doubled in the past three decades - and is on track to increase even more. With the Summer closing in, CDC researchers urge people to take more protection from ultraviolet rays.
If we want to defeat cancer, we have to treat every patient uniquely, a team from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) concluded. They announced the trial of a new type of cancer test – one that is designed for the patient, not for a specific condition. “This is really the first time in a very large way […]
