Linear growth restriction continues to be a major public health challenge globally for poor communities in low- and middle-income countries. Stunting before 2 years of age is prominent among the nutrition factors related to disease burden and mortality in early childhood. Longer-term associations of early linear growth faltering include impairment of motor development; cognition, educational…
Imagine there was a store where there were no prices on items, and you never knew what you’d pay until you’d picked out your purchases and were leaving the shop. You might be skeptical that the store would have any incentive to offer reasonable prices. This exact situation has become the norm in U.S. health care,…
Nine patients at Penn Medicine have been cured of the Hepatitis C virus (HCV) following lifesaving heart transplants from deceased donors who were infected with the disease, according to a study published in the American Journal of Transplantation. The results highlight the potential for expanding the use of HCV-infected organs, including hearts, to broaden the donor…
New technique developed at UCLA can screen hundreds of drugs using patients’ own cells. UCLA scientists have developed a new method to quickly screen hundreds of drugs in order to identify treatments that can target specific tumors. The approach could help scientists understand how a person’s tumor would respond to a certain drug or drug…
Aging promotes lung function decline and increases susceptibility to diseases of the respiratory tract. In order to understand these effects in detail; researchers at Helmholtz Zentrum München; a partner in the German Center for Lung Research (DZL), analyzed the aging process in the lung at single-cell level using AI approaches. They have now presented this…
Bringing the science of high intensity interval training (HIIT) into everyday life could be the key to helping unfit; overweight people get more of the exercise they need to improve their health; according to an international research team. So, from washing the car to climbing stairs or carrying groceries; each of these activities is an…
Melanoma patients with a history of smoking cigarettes are 40% less likely to survive their skin cancer than people who have never smoked, according to a new report funded by Cancer Research UK. The study of more than 700 melanoma patients mainly from the north of England and published today in Cancer Research provides evidence…
Many men with low-risk prostate cancer who most likely previously would have undergone immediate surgery or radiation are now adopting a more conservative “active surveillance” strategy;l according to an analysis of a new federal database by scientists from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. The use of active surveillance increased from 14.5 % to 42.1 % of men…
The recent launch of a criminal investigation into a case of medically assisted death for psychiatric illness in Belgium, reported by multiple media sources, is shining a spotlight on growing concerns even among supporters about the controversial practice. The criminal allegations, which reportedly mark the first investigation of medically assisted euthanasia in that country since…
A genetic variant found only in people of African descent significantly increases a smoker’s preference for cigarettes containing menthol, a flavor additive. The variant of the MRGPRX4 gene is five to eight times more frequent among smokers who use menthol cigarettes than other smokers, according to an international group of researchers supported by the U.S.…
Men with early stage testicular cancer can safely receive one course of chemotherapy or radiotherapy after surgery without it having a long-term effect on their sperm count, according to a study published in the leading cancer journal Annals of today. Although it is known already that several rounds of chemotherapy or high doses of radiotherapy given to men…
A Rutgers-led team has discovered two genes that make some strains of harmful Staphyloccocus bacteria resistant to treatment by copper, a potent and frequently used antibacterial agent. The discovery shows that Staphyloccocus aureus can acquire additional genes that promote infections and antibacterial resistance and may open new paths for the development of antibacterial drugs, according…