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Abortion: Federal court blocks N.C. ultrasound requirement

Federal court's injunction affects new N.C. law which takes effect today. In addition, the New York Times examines state "personhood" amendments.

27 Oct 2011

Late pregnancy snoring could harm mother and baby alike

Nearly half of pregnant women may develop snoring by their final trimester and this could lead to dangerous health problems for mother and baby, Australian sleep researchers have shown. According to professor of medicine, Colin Sullivan, research found woman who started snoring during the later stages of pregnancy were at increased risk of developing high blood pressure.

27 Oct 2011

BROCA test identifies 12 gene mutations linked to ovarian and related cancers

More patients with ovarian carcinoma carry cancer-predisposing mutations, and in more genes, than previously thought.

27 Oct 2011

Center for Reproductive Rights releases 2011 map of World's Abortion Laws

The Center for Reproductive Rights has released its online World's Abortion Laws map for 2011. The center has produced the map since 1998 "to visually compare the legal status of induced abortion in different countries -- and to advocate for greater progress in ensuring access to safe and legal abortion services for all women worldwide."

27 Oct 2011

Al Jazeera examines maternal mortality in Afghanistan

Al Jazeera examines maternal mortality in Afghanistan, which "remains one of the worst places to be a mother," 10 years after the beginning of the U.S. war in Afghanistan and "despite billions of dollars in aid and considerable progress." In an accompanying video, the news service reports, "One in five children born in Afghanistan dies by the age of five, and the statistics for mothers aren't good either."

27 Oct 2011

Scientists studying complete genetic profiles of centenarians to find the secret of longevity

Scientists have announced Wednesday that they would examine some of the oldest citizens with one of the newest scientific tools: whole-genome sequencing, the deciphering of a person’s complete collection of DNA. They speculate that DNA from very old healthy people could offer clues to how they lived so long. And that could one day lead to medicines to help people stay disease-free longer.

27 Oct 2011

Yo-yo dieting can affect appetite hormones for up to a year

A new study suggests that the ‘yo-yo’ effect that dieters experience of shedding pounds and gaining them back may be due to the persistence of hormones that drive the urge to eat even a year after weight loss.

27 Oct 2011

Study reveals a possible way to reduce false alarms during early breast cancer screening

Early detection of breast cancer saves thousands of lives each year. But screening for breast cancer also produces false alarms, which can cause undue stress and costly medical bills. Now, a recent study using patient blood reveals a possible way to reduce the number of false alarms that arise during early screening. Researchers found a panel of proteins shed by breast cancer that are easily detected and can distinguish between real cancer and benign lumps.

27 Oct 2011

Computer-delivered intervention for pregnant women at risk for alcohol use

A team of researchers at Wayne State University's Parent Health Lab in the School of Medicine have received a three-year grant to develop a computer-delivered intervention for pregnant women at risk for alcohol use, which can lead to lifelong negative effects on the fetus.

27 Oct 2011

Disconnecting global AIDS from reproductive health stalled efforts to expand family planning services, UNFPA head says

Babatunde Osotimehin, the executive director of the U.N. Population Fund (UNPFA), said in an interview with the Guardian that "efforts to expand family planning services in the developing world stalled for a decade while global health organizations turned their energies to fighting HIV/AIDS. 'We made a mistake. We disconnected HIV from reproductive health. We should never have done that because it is part and parcel,' he said."

27 Oct 2011

Opinion pieces respond to U.N. special rapporteur's report on reproductive health policies

Several opinion pieces respond to a report presented on Monday to the U.N. General Assembly by Arnand Grover, U.N. special rapporteur for the Right to Health, that "considers the impact of criminal and other legal restrictions on abortion; conduct during pregnancy; contraception and family planning; and the provision of sexual and reproductive education and information," according to the report summary.

27 Oct 2011

Taking the Pill for 10 years can reduce risk of ovarian cancer by almost half

Taking the Pill for 10 years can reduce the risk of ovarian cancer by almost half (45 per cent), new research part-funded by Cancer Research UK shows today.

27 Oct 2011

Breast cancer screening effectiveness under scrutiny yet again

There has been a lot of debate regarding the effectiveness of breast cancer screening in the UK. It is being reviewed yet again. The NHS says screening saves lives, but other researchers have argued that it may cause more harm than good.

26 Oct 2011

One embryo is all it takes for a successful IVF: Study

Doctors practicing IVF often transferred multiple embryos to a woman’s body at once, in the hope that at least one of them would lead to a successful pregnancy. That changes now as a new study from researchers at the University of Iowa in Iowa City found that women who had only one embryo transferred during IVF didn’t have lower chances of getting pregnant, but they did have a lower risk of giving birth to twins than women who had multiple embryos transferred.

25 Oct 2011

Three dry days a week reduces risk of alcohol related liver disease

The Royal College of Physicians said the present official guidance on healthy drinking limits is ‘extremely dangerous’ and must be rewritten – because it implies that drinking every day is fine. Government advice states men should drink no more than four units a day and women no more than three.

24 Oct 2011

Invuity's illuminated breast retractor system helps surgeons to better visualize delicate structures

Invuity, a leading developer of state-of-the-art illuminated surgical technology, today introduced its illuminated breast retractor system at the American College of Surgeons' 97th Annual Clinical Congress in San Francisco.

24 Oct 2011

Tenofovir gel confirmed to be effective against herpes in lab experiment, study shows

Data from lab experiments published online by the journal Cell Host and Microbes last week show that the gel form of the antiretroviral tenofovir, which is being investigated as an HIV prevention method, works to inhibit the reproduction of herpes virus in tonsil and cervical tissue, the New York Times reports.

24 Oct 2011

Together for Girls Partnership works to end sexual violence

In this post on the State Department's "DipNote" blog, U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Ambassador Eric Goosby writes about the Together for Girls Partnership, an initiative that "generates a powerful advocacy platform to stop sexual violence by supporting countries' efforts to fully understand and cope with the scope of the epidemic."

24 Oct 2011

Gestational BPA exposure associated with behavior, emotional problems in young girls

Exposure in the womb to bisphenol A (BPA) - a chemical used to make plastic containers and other consumer goods - is associated with behavior and emotional problems in young girls, according to a study led by researchers at Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH), Cincinnati Children's Hospital and Medical Center, and Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, British Columbia.

24 Oct 2011

Women can benefit from breast reconstruction after mastectomy

After a mastectomy, women who undergo breast reconstruction with tissue from their own abdomen experience significant gains in psychological, social, and sexual wellbeing as soon as three weeks after surgery.

24 Oct 2011