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Eating seafood still beneficial in many ways

Though some species of fish around the world's are likely to be contaminated with mercury, PCBs and other toxins, the benefits of eating seafood continue to outweigh the risks, a panel of scientists recently said at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

27 Feb 2006

Chromium industry withheld data from the U.S. government

According to a new report scientists funded by the chromium industry withheld key data from the U.S. government which called for a strict standard to be imposed regarding workplace exposure to hexavalent chromium.

27 Feb 2006

Viagra could cure Crohn's disease

Crohn's disease is a chronic inflammatory bowel disorder which causes ulcerations in the gut and can make digesting food painful.

27 Feb 2006

French vaccinate millions of free range birds as farm becomes first victim of bird flu

A farm in eastern France has become the first domestic victim of the H5N1 strain of bird flu in the European Union.

27 Feb 2006

Common practice of prescribing H2 blockers to treat acid reflux in premature infants should be discontinued

Researchers in an NIH network have found that premature infants given a common class of non-prescription drugs used to treat acid reflux are slightly more likely to develop a potentially fatal bowel disorder than are infants who are not treated with the drugs

24 Feb 2006

Public under-assesses the risk associated with some bacteriological hazards

A recent study shows that food safety experts have little confidence in the public's understanding of food risk issues. The study is published in the Journal of Food Safety.

24 Feb 2006

Scientists discover genetic profile eosinophilic esophagitis

Though many parents may never have heard of it, a severe and chronic condition called eosinophilic esophagitis (EE) is recognized by doctors as an emerging health problem for children.

24 Feb 2006

Surgery for obesity now covered by Medicare

The U.S. government says obese elderly or disabled patients are now eligible for a range of surgical weight-loss procedures under the U.S. Medicare health insurance plan.

23 Feb 2006

India and Malaysia breathe sigh of relief as suspects cleared of bird flu

The news that people being treated for suspected bird flu in India and Malaysia, do not in fact have the virus will come as a relief to many and calm fear that the disease has spread to humans.

22 Feb 2006

Rotavirus vaccine given the green light

The Food and Drug Administration in the U.S. has recommended a new vaccine for routine use against rotavirus infection.

22 Feb 2006

Concern grows over possible bird flu spread in West Africa

The FAO has expressed growing concern that the bird flu virus H5N1 may spread to other countries in West Africa following the discovery of the virus in Nigeria last week. The effects on a region already facing severe malnutrition would be devastating, the UN agency warned.

21 Feb 2006

Multikine treatment increases survival in cancer patients

CEL-SCI Corporation has announced positive results from a long-term follow-up study of head & neck cancer patients treated with its drug Multikine in a Phase II clinical trial.

21 Feb 2006

Pfizer receives FDA approval for Eraxis to treat candidemia

Pfizer said today that Eraxis (anidulafungin) has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat candidemia, a potentially life-threatening bloodstream infection. Candidemia is the most deadly of the common hospital-acquired bloodstream infections, with a mortality rate of approximately 40 percent.

21 Feb 2006

Food experts say public has inadequate understanding of food risk issues

A recent study shows that food safety experts have little confidence in the public’s understanding of food risk issues. The study is published in the Journal of Food Safety.

21 Feb 2006

Organic diet for children means less exposure to pesticides

In a new study researchers in the U.S. have shown that organic diets meant that children had less exposure to two common pesticides.

21 Feb 2006

Pig cells reverse diabetes in monkeys

A team of researchers in the U.S. have successfully reversed diabetes in monkeys using transplanted islet cells from pigs.

21 Feb 2006

Lifetime calorie restraint to prevent obesity is the most powerful way to reduce age-related health problems

University of South Florida researcher Barbara Hansen, PhD, will likely never be invited to talk about weight loss on Oprah. Her message is mundanely common sense, not faddish - she doesn't drop phrases like "low carb," or "low fat," or "geared to your body type" or "put your body into fat-burning mode."

20 Feb 2006

Potential new drug for treating all forms of tuberculosis

An experimental tuberculosis drug may be effective against not only multi drug-resistant forms of the disease but could also be the first compound to treat the latent stage of infection as well. Researchers reported their results at the 2006 ASM Biodefense Research Meeting.

20 Feb 2006

Americans divided on genetically engineered food

While more than two-thirds of the food in U.S. markets contains at least some amount of a genetically engineered (GE) crop, researchers want to know if Americans consider GE food a health risk or benefit.

20 Feb 2006