MEDICINE & HEALTHThe Texas Department of State Health Services has reported the state's first case of West Nile virus and is now reminding people how to protect themselves from the virus caused by mosquitoes.
Erik Sorto has been paralyzed for more than a decade unable to move his arms or legs. However, he was recently able to pick up a beer and drink it all thanks to a new robotic arm.
At the forefront of the fight against antibiotic resistance, a team of scientists led by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital researchers have developed a new weapon. The second-generation antibiotic shows early effectiveness against common bacterial infections that have the potential to develop antibiotic resistance and pose a serious health threat to children and adults.
Dogs have been man's companion for thousands of years. First domesticated by our hunter/gatherer ancestors over 18,000 years ago, they have been part of our culture ever since, providing protection from predators, warning us of danger, and most of all, serving as loving companions. So the fact that they may offer some assistance to those with seizure disorders should come as no surprise. It's how they assist their owners that is truly remarkable.
In spite of years of public health messages, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that barely one third of Americans use sunscreen on a regular basis.
There's good news for anyone who's ever suffered from a hangover. Now, there's a safe and simple remedy available for those who overindulge. The only problem is, you may have to wrestle it from your child.
In what government officials are calling one of the largest charity fraud cases ever, the Cancer Fund of America and its charities have been charged by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and regulators from 50 states and the District of Columbia. The FTC says that almost all of the nearly $200 million the charities garnered from donors were spent by the cancer-free family and friends of those running the groups—spent on things like meals at Hooters, Caribbean couples’ cruises, subscriptions to dating websites, jet ski rides, and Victoria’s Secret shopping trips.
Currently it is suggested that all women with dense breasts get ultrasounds or other extra screenings after a mammogram, but a new study is now suggesting that those added tests may actually benefit only certain women.
The controversial vaccine bill that has been moving through the state house and senate of California has been passed by the Senate after only an hour of debate.
Scientists have found that neurological evidence in the form of brain scans that show birds of a feather do flock together. The team says that neural and social signals in the mind align in terms of how we perceive both safety and risk. This means that trends happen for a reason, and now scientists have a better understanding of why-no matter how awful, embarrassing, or just plain weird the trend is.
In our quest to understand the complex inner workings of the human brain, researchers at New York University have brought us one step closer. They have pinpointed a region of the brain exclusively devoted to processing speech, which not only provides a better understanding of the cerebral landscape, but settles a long-standing dispute concerning the brain's perception of sound.
Humans have always sought ways to alter their consciousness. Throughout our history as a species we have created and improved techniques for growing, brewing, processing, and, now, synthesizing mind-altering substances. Now, researchers from Concordia University in Quebec and University of California, Berkeley have detailed the steps needed to morphine from scratch from a simple yeast fungus.
Staci Mishkin was tested for the BRCA breast cancer gene mutation eighteen years ago; at that time she was one of the first women in the US to do so. She had her breasts and ovaries removed to protect herself. Today she is 50 years old-the first woman in her family to live that long, and testing for the BRCA 1 and BRCA 2 gene mutations that cause breast cancer are the subject of intense debate.
