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HIV-related tuberculosis deaths higher than past estimates

The total number of new tuberculosis (TB) cases remained stable in 2007, and the percentage of the world's population becoming ill with TB has continued the slow decline that was first observed in 2004, according to a new report released by WHO today.

24 Mar 2009

Osteoporosis linked to vertigo

People who have osteoporosis are more likely to also have vertigo, according to a study published in the March 24, 2009, print issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

23 Mar 2009

Time (and PPAR-beta/delta) heals all wounds

Mammalian skin requires constant maintenance, but how do skin cells know when to proliferate and at what rate?

23 Mar 2009

Early epilepsy surgery may have a positive impact on babies' brain development

A new study published in Epilepsia reveals surgery for babies and toddlers suffering from epilepsy is relatively safe and is effective in controlling seizures.

23 Mar 2009

Super-microsurgical technique brings hope to breast cancer patients with lymphedema

Breast cancer patients with lymphedema in their upper arm experienced reduced fluid in the swollen arm by up to 39 percent after undergoing a super-microsurgical technique known as lymphaticovenular bypass, report researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

23 Mar 2009

Study shows how Salmonella survives in environment

Scientists at the University of Liverpool have demonstrated how a single-celled organism, living freely in the environment, could be a source of Salmonella transmission to animals and humans.

23 Mar 2009

Tai chi improves balance in stroke survivors

Stroke can impair balance, heightening the risk of a debilitating fall.

23 Mar 2009

New strategy for fighting persistent bacterial infections

Researchers at National Jewish Health have discovered a promising strategy for destroying the molecular scaffolding that can make Pseudomonas bacterial infections extremely difficult to treat in cystic fibrosis patients, wearers of contact lenses, and burn victims.

23 Mar 2009

Social isolation makes strokes more deadly in mice

New research in mice suggests that social isolation may promote more damaging inflammation in the brain during a stroke.

23 Mar 2009

Smoking linked to greater risk for pancreatitis

Smoking appears to be associated with an increased risk of acute and chronic pancreatitis, according to a report in the March 23 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

23 Mar 2009

Review of probiotics in the treatment of Irritable Bowel Syndrome

A review by researchers at Northwestern University (Chicago, IL.) and University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, MI) of the utility of probiotics in the treatment of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) found that Bifidobacterium infantis 35624 was the only probiotic strain out of 13 different individual strains or preparations reviewed to significantly improve symptoms of IBS, including abdominal pain, bloating and bowel movement difficulty.

23 Mar 2009

Researchers identify genetic machinery responsible for synthesizing thiostrepton

Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have identified the genetic machinery responsible for synthesizing thiostrepton, a powerful antibiotic produced by certain bacteria.

23 Mar 2009

Rewrite of the recipe for life - new type of DNA

In a dramatic rewrite of the recipe for life, scientists from Florida today described the design of a new type of DNA with 12 chemical letters instead of the usual four.

23 Mar 2009

Proteinuria during pre-eclampsia: A poor predictor of complications?

The estimation of levels of proteinuria in women with pre-eclampsia is not a clinically useful test to predict fetal or maternal outcomes.

23 Mar 2009

Scientists make a new protein from scratch

No doubt proteins are complex. Most are "large" and full of interdependent branches, pockets and bends in their final folded structure.

23 Mar 2009

Plastic protein protects bacteria from stomach acid's unfolding power

A tiny protein helps protect disease-causing bacteria from the ravaging effects of stomach acid, researchers at the University of Michigan and Howard Hughes Medical Institute have discovered.

23 Mar 2009

Plan B ruling jeopardizes girls' health, expert says

Today US District Judge Edward R. Korman ordered the FDA to make the morning after pill available to 17-year-old minor girls without a physician's visit or prescription and without parental consent.

23 Mar 2009

Physical abuse raises women's health costs by 42 percent

Women experiencing physical abuse from intimate partners spent 42 percent more on health care per year than non-abused women, according to a long-term study of more than 3,000 women.

23 Mar 2009

Stem cell therapy may lead to treatment for deafness

Deafness affects more than 250 million people worldwide. It typically involves the loss of sensory receptors, called hair cells, for their "tufts" of hair-like protrusions, and their associated neurons.

23 Mar 2009