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UNICEF in new African vaccine drive

UNICEF (UN Children's Fund), has launched a massive vaccination campaign across the Horn of Africa to protect 2.5 million children against diseases like measles, which can be deadly for malnourished children. This drive would include a strategy to vaccinate every child in Somalia (under the age of 15) against measles.

27 Jul 2011

A healthier ‘Happy Meal’ on the way

McDonald’s Happy Meal, under the pressure from health advocates, will now become a little more healthy. The company announced Tuesday that it would replace more than halve the amount of French fries and add fruit to its popular children’s meal in an effort to reduce the overall calorie count by 20 percent. A toy will still come with each Happy Meal despite criticism that the trinkets, often with tie-ins to movies, foster a powerful connection between children and the often calorie-laden meals.

27 Jul 2011

No link between cell phone use and increased risk for brain cancer: European study

A new study that looked at cell phone users under the age of 20 found no link between cell phone use and an increased risk for brain cancer. Researchers from the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute in Basel, Switzerland, studied data collected in Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Switzerland.

27 Jul 2011

OR models verify cost effectiveness of hepatitis B interventions

With hepatitis B infecting as many as 10% of people of Asian descent, operations researchers collaborated with a liver transplant surgeon to develop mathematical models that verified the cost effectiveness of hepatitis B interventions.

27 Jul 2011

South Korean group delivers food aid to North Korea

The Korean Sharing Movement, a South Korean relief group, "crossed into North Korea Tuesday with 12 trucks full of flour, marking the first food aid of its kind since a North Korean attack last year," VOA's "Breaking News" blog reports.

27 Jul 2011

U.N. says Libyan capital 'urgently' needs humanitarian aid

U.N. humanitarian agencies on Monday said areas of the Libyan capital, Tripoli, "urgently need humanitarian assistance, including medical treatment for injuries caused by the ongoing conflict in the North African country," the U.N. News Centre reports.

27 Jul 2011

New sustainable ways to manage urban water in the U.S.

America's cities face a looming water crisis, driven by climate change, growing population and a crumbling infrastructure. Recognizing the critical importance of this issue, the National Science Foundation has selected a partnership of four U.S. universities to form an Engineering Research Center (ERC) to address this challenge by developing new, sustainable ways to manage urban water.

27 Jul 2011

New series of hospital-based adventure books for children

Hospitals can be scary and overwhelming for kids, and Hospital Critterz, a new series of hospital-based adventure books, helps children see the medical world differently.

27 Jul 2011

Researchers compile first global estimates of coeliac disease and associated mortality

Researchers from Umeå University, Sweden and University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa, have compiled the first global estimates of coeliac disease and associated mortality, just published in the journal PLoS ONE.

27 Jul 2011

Teens with military parents more likely to engage in risky habits

When military deployments call for their parents to serve abroad, adolescents have a tough time adjusting, and a new study shows their moods often lead to risky behavior.

27 Jul 2011

Mayo Clinic releases recommendations from the ice hockey concussion summit

Mayo Clinic has released recommendations from the Ice Hockey Summit on Concussion: A Call to Action. The summit attracted top scientists, trainers, coaches, officials and equipment manufacturers from across the United States, Canada and Europe to discuss concussion-related issues, including the science of concussions, impact on children, and prevention.

27 Jul 2011

New Penn Center for Orphan Disease Research and Therapy

The Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania announces the launching of a first-of-its-kind interdisciplinary center focused on discovering novel treatments for orphan diseases.

27 Jul 2011

Researchers investigate the nature of stuttering

Radio-TV-Film senior Alex Murphy has a knack for storytelling through short stories, poetry and screenwriting. One of his undergraduate classes was a professional communication course, which requires students to deliver oral presentations in class.

27 Jul 2011

Cedars-Sinai's COACH for Kids and Their Families to increase oral health services for students

Dental problems are the most commonly cited unmet need among children. Cedars-Sinai's COACH for Kids and Their Families, a mobile medical program, has been selected as one of 20 school-based programs nationwide to receive a grant from the National Assembly on School-based Health Care (NASBHC) to increase oral health services to students in underserved communities.

27 Jul 2011

N.H. hospitals sue over Medicaid payments; Louisiana announces firms that will handle Medicaid managed care

As states seek to keep spending down for the health care program for low-income and disabled residents, they look to trim reimbursement rates and move more enrollees to private plans that control costs.

27 Jul 2011

Follow-up dose recommended to defend children against pandemic virus outbreaks

Researchers from Australia determined that pediatric liver transplant patients who received a single-dose of the H1N1 vaccine were not adequately protected against the virus compared to healthy children.

27 Jul 2011

Special panel votes in favor of HDE approval for EXCOR Pediatric VAD

At the request of Dr. Bram Zuckerman, Director, Division of Cardiovascular Devices, Center for Devices and Radiologic Health of the United States Food and Drug Administration, a special panel was convened on Thursday July 21 in Gaithersburg, Maryland to review the results of the EXCOR® IDE clinical trial.

27 Jul 2011

Four-year study to test effectiveness of WHO Safe Childbirth program

Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) has been awarded a $14.1 million, four-year grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to test the effectiveness of an innovative checklist-based childbirth safety program in reducing deaths and improving outcomes of mothers and infants in 120 hospitals in India.

27 Jul 2011

NSU, Immunotec collaborate to determine effects of Immunocal on children with ASD

Immunotec Inc. announces that Nova Southeastern University (NSU) in Florida is conducting a study to determine the effects of Immunocal on the behaviours of children with autism spectrum disorder.

27 Jul 2011

Interesting look at gender issues: AskMen/Cosmo survey results

According to the latest survey results revealed Tuesday, men are more concerned with their partner's body type than women but they also seem to value family more highly. Nearly half of men questioned in the poll of 70,000 people said they would ditch a partner who gained weight, compared to only 20 percent of women. Two-third of men also said they had fantasized about their partner's friends, while only one-third of women had done so.

26 Jul 2011