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Machine-learning based imaging and sorting solution aims to reduce Africa's tsetse population

The tsetse fly has wreaked devastation across large swaths of sub-Saharan Africa. About the size of a housefly, the insect transmits a parasite that can be lethal to both humans (sleeping sickness) and animals (nagana) - especially cattle.

11 Mar 2019

Population aging study reveals wide variations in how well or poorly people age

At what age do you feel 65? A 30-year gap separates countries with the highest and lowest ages at which people experience the health problems of a 65-year-old, according to a new scientific study.

11 Mar 2019

UMSOM study reveals progress, challenges in introducing typhoid conjugate vaccine in Africa and Asia

Each year there are nearly 11 million cases of typhoid, a disease that is spread through contaminated food, drink and water.

11 Mar 2019

FDA takes action to help reduce risks linked with use of surgical staplers and staples

Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a Letter to Health Care Providers to alert them that the agency is aware of an increasing number of medical device reports associated with the use of surgical staplers for internal use and implantable surgical staples - common devices used in many surgeries - and to provide updated recommendations to help reduce risks associated with their use.

11 Mar 2019

Researchers find link between early menarche and high blood pressure

The age a woman begins menstruation is associated with having high blood pressure later in her life, according to a team of researchers at the University of Georgia.

8 Mar 2019

New gene regions associated with sleep duration identified

A study led by investigators from Massachusetts General Hospital and the University of Exeter Medical School has identified 76 new gene regions associated with sleep duration.

8 Mar 2019

Antibiotics and PPIs may increase risk of infectious diarrhea in children

Prior antibiotic exposure and use of acid suppressing medications known as proton pump inhibitors may increase the risk for hospitalized children to contract dangerous Clostridioides difficile infections, according to a study published today in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America.

8 Mar 2019

Moderate alcohol consumption raises risk of high blood pressure, shows study

A study of more than 17,000 U.S. adults shows that moderate alcohol consumption--seven to 13 drinks per week--substantially raises one's risk of high blood pressure, or hypertension, according to research being presented at the American College of Cardiology's 68th Annual Scientific Session.

8 Mar 2019

Vaping associated with heart attack, coronary artery disease and depression

Concerns about the addictive nature of e-cigarettes--now used by an estimated 1 out of 20 Americans--may only be part of the evolving public health story surrounding their use, according to data being presented at the American College of Cardiology's 68th Annual Scientific Session.

8 Mar 2019

Ebola survivors in Liberia have higher prevalence of health issues, study shows

Survivors of Ebola virus disease in Liberia had a higher prevalence of certain health issues--including uveitis (eye redness and pain), abdominal, chest, neurologic, and musculoskeletal abnormalities upon physical exam--when compared to a control group of household and community members who did not have a history of EVD, according to findings from an ongoing study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

8 Mar 2019

Study yields patient-driven recommendations to reduce breast cancer-related financial burden

A qualitative study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health yielded nine patient-driven recommendations across circumstances that include changes to insurance, supportive services and financial assistance to reduce long-term, breast cancer-related economic burden.

8 Mar 2019

Anti-vaccination activists are misusing new scientific breakthroughs on beneficial microbes

Anti-vaccination activists are capitalizing on radical new scientific insights into the beneficial effects of microbes in the human body, according to new research from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

8 Mar 2019

Podcast: KHN’s ‘What the Health?’ What’s next for the FDA?

The resignation of Scott Gottlieb as commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration caught many FDA watchers by surprise. Gottlieb has been an active regulator in a very anti-regulatory Trump administration.

7 Mar 2019

Scientists identify genetic mechanism that may play role in some obesity cases

Obesity is a major public-health problem in the United States and around the world, with an estimated 650 million people suffering from the condition.

7 Mar 2019

Hidden FDA reports detail harm caused by scores of medical devices

Dr. Douglas Kwazneski was helping a Pittsburgh surgeon remove an appendix when something jarring happened. The surgical stapler meant to cut and seal the tissue around the appendix locked up.

7 Mar 2019

Rutgers experts publish first scientific list of tick species confirmed in New Jersey

A Rutgers-led team has published the first scientific list of tick species confirmed in New Jersey and recommends tick surveillance across New Jersey.

7 Mar 2019

Over 100 children are having rotten teeth removed everyday, says UK government

NHS data has shown that over 100 children are having rotten teeth removed every day. The report has come as a shock to many as tooth decay is preventable.

7 Mar 2019

A mumps quarantine in La. may encroach on rights of detained immigrants

A mumps outbreak and quarantine at the Pine Prairie Immigration and Customs Enforcement Processing Center in Louisiana blocked immigrants from legal resources, including their lawyers and the law library, for about two weeks in January and February, according to the attorneys.

7 Mar 2019

California looks to lead nation in unraveling childhood trauma

Imagine identifying a toxin so potent it could rewire a child's brain and erode his immune system. A substance that, in high doses, tripled the risk of heart disease and lung cancer and reduced life expectancy by 20 years.

6 Mar 2019

Patients question how FDA approves medical devices

There’s no doubt that surgically implanted medical devices can improve lives. Hip and knee replacements can help people regain their mobility. Drug pumps can deliver doses of pain-relieving medicine on demand. And metal rods can stabilize spines and broken bones.

6 Mar 2019