MEDICINE & HEALTH

First Successful Penis Transplant Raises Questions around South African Circumcision Ceremonies

While a South African patient’s identity is being protected for ethical reasons, according to Tygerberg Hospital, news of his successful procedure and sexual history are making headlines nonetheless. Fully recovered from a nine-hour operation that occurred on Dec. 11, 2014, the young man whose name is not being disclosed at this time, marks a great achievement in that doctors were the first to successfully complete a penile transplant operation in his case.

Listeriosis Outbreak Now Poses Threat to Ice Cream—Blue Bell Creameries Recalls Products

It’s in the popcorn, in the caramel apples, and now it’s in the ice cream. It appears that Listeria monocytogenes has some pretty great tastes, seeing as how it has infected all of our favorite treats. And now, in what happens to be the company’s first recall in a successful 108-year history, a new outbreak of Listeriosis has caused Blue Bell Creameries to take its ice cream off of the shelves.

Why Ebola Places Children at Greater Risk

The death toll of the most recent round of Ebola moved beyond 10,000 on Thursday Mar. 12, but the threat to West Africa isn't over yet, and children are at far greater risk. But it's not Ebola that health care experts are worried about now, but rather large outbreaks of other vaccine-preventable diseases that could overrun the region.

In the Wake of Ebola—H7N9 Influenza Has Spread in Secret

In the wake of the Ebola pandemic, researchers in China have identified a virus capable of global infection that has been mutating and brewing on the sidelines. A strain of the avian influenza, the H7N9 flu emerged in eastern China in Feb. 2013 in a small population with a mortality rate of roughly 33%. But over the last year, since it reemerged in October 2013, the virus has been spreading steadily, and mutating along the way. Now public health officials fear that the growing viral infection may soon reach the levels much like the Ebola outbreak, and it is something that researchers are heavily investigating.

Genetic Markers and Immune Response Reveal Origins of PTSD

While Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has become highly stigmatized as a mental health condition within the armed forces, where soldiers often return home from battle with the debilitating condition, it appears that not only may some soldiers be genetically predisposed to it—some may have immunological reactions that even make it worse. In a new study published this week in the journal Molecular Psychiatry, a team of researchers with the University of Southampton (UK) and University of California, San Diego have uncovered the genetic markers that could theoretically allow them to identify soldiers or patients that may be most at risk, even before they’re deployed at all.

Clearing the Questions Around PTSD—How Researchers Revealed a New Genetic Link

It’s a story not too unfamiliar in the line of duty for those in the armed forces. When faced with the traumatic experiences, dangers and death of warring nations, often those on the front line are scathed to say the least. A new study revealing the origins and genetic markers for Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may provide a glimmer of hope for soldiers suffering with the condition, but with the stigma and disbelief the general public has regarding the disorder, the battle is far from over.

Aphrodisiacs: The Food of Love

All about aphrodisiacs Whether aphrodisiacs really boost up the sexual drive has never been the actual question. It is the belief, an unquestioned faith in their abilities to increase up the libido, that makes one wonder.

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