MEDICINE & HEALTHAccording to a new report from the American Cancer Society, cancer is claiming the lives of fewer Americans than ever before. In the past two decades cancer death rates have dropped significantly by 22%, sparing the lives of over 1.5 million people in the United States alone. While cancer death rates have declined in every state, the report found substantial variation in the magnitude of the declines from state to state. Generally, states in the south showed the smallest decline, while states in the northeast had the largest decline. States in the south experienced drops in death rates of about 15%, with rates much higher in other parts of the country.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, the death of an otherwise healthy 17-year-old girl only highlights the severity of this year's influenza outbreak. Shannon Zwanziger seemed like a perfectly health teenager. She was active and rarely got sick; in fact, she had not even seen a doctor in more than three years. Then, she came down with the flu. Within only a week of fighting the virus, she was dead.
Despite the additions of healthier alternatives to the menus of many of the leading fast food restaurants, researchers have found that most of the food still served is just as bad for you today as it was almost twenty years ago.
2014 proved to be a busy year for disease control experts around the world, as many viruses began to rear their heads like never before. Ebola, measles, mumps, and whooping cough, among others, have seen record outbreaks as health officials work to stay ahead of the potentially deadly diseases.
New research published online in the journal JAMA Psychiatry has revealed that a child is more likely to attempt suicide if his or her parents have attempted suicide in the past. In fact, children with parents who have attempted suicide are five times more likely to attempt it themselves, compared to children with parents who haven't attempted suicide.
While many are familiar with the not-so-sweet implications of diabetes, a new study reveals that children suffering with Type-1 diabetes may in fact have slower brain growth and development than children without the glucose-to-insulin imbalance.
Well, they may not be the normal bar hoppers you’re likely to spot out on New Year’s Eve, but a new study shows that when zebra finches imbibe even just a bit, they won’t likely pass a sobriety test no matter how high their tolerance. Spiking the drinks of the small Darwinian subjects, researchers with the Oregon Health & Science University found that after drinking even small amounts of liquor the birds were less inclined to fly around but certainly slurred their songs and chirps with a distinct drunken vibe.
A new study has shown the link between the body and brain is stronger than initially thought. In the study, people who imagined themselves exercising not only strengthened their brain but also strengthen their muscles and slowed down muscle atrophy.
Pursuing the newest origin of the viral pathogen deep within the forests of West Africa, health officials believe that they may have found the source of the infection in a hollowed out tree. But the issue is far more complex than many would like to think.
While the viral pathogen continues to claim lives in West Africa, health officials believe that they may have now found the source of the infection, in a hollowed out tree. After making an expedition to patient zero’s—a two-year-old boy named Emile Ouamouno—hometown in Meliandou, Guinea, researchers believe that they may have found the source of Ebola in a hollow tree the young boy may have played in, which also is home to a colony of bats.
In the past, red meat consumption has been linked with many diseases, such as colorectal and breast cancers amongst many other. And while it has been strongly associated with higher risk of cancer in humans, as opposed to other animals, the mechanism for the meats' health risk have not been determined. But a recent study published this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences may have just discovered the science behind its carcinogenic effect, particularly in humans.
The first case of the deadly bird flu has been confirmed in Hong Kong and health officials fear that this season may see many more infections that past cases of H7N9 -- the newest strain of the disease. Patient zero, a woman from Hong Kong, is in critical condition, and has been confirmed as having the lethal strain of the influenza virus, marking the first case of the deadly flu this winter.
A new study of women has revealed that what her friends and family members have to say about her weight can have a drastic effect on her ability to maintain, lose or gain weight.
While diabetes is often known as a disease affecting the breakdown of sugar, most do not know about the implications of the disease's affects on the circulatory system. As a disease that limits blood flow, as well as organ health, diabetes has been known to cause other dreaded ailments, that if left unchecked, may have a debilitating effect on a person's life. Vital organs are the usual casualties of diabetes, with cataracts that lead to blindness, as well as, kidney malfunction being some of the ramifications associated with the disease. A recent study published in the journal Diabetes found that type-one diabetes may affect another organ in children in particular-the brain. The study saw a difference in brain development of children with diabetes, compared with children not suffering from the disease.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has recorded over 7,500 confirmed, and suspected Ebola deaths in the West African countries of Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea; and more than 19,000 recorded cases in the said trio, which are the most heavily-affected countries in terms of Ebola. Early detection and quick action are therefore necessary to curb the further accelerated spread of the disease.
A new study has shown that adults suffering from HIV often experience hearing loss in the upper and lower frequency ranges after years of treatments with power antiretroviral medications.
The US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released a report saying a number of its scientists may have been exposed to the deadly Ebola virus. The scientists are said to have transferred a live Ebola sample to another lab by mistake.
After nearly a month of debates and testimonies arguing the legal rights of an unborn fetus, a three-judge panel of the Irish High Court ruled on Friday Dec. 26 that in the case of a pregnant mother being declared clinically dead, that doctors may choose to turn off life support, and in-effect terminate the pregnancy, if the fetus has little chance of survival.
In a significant development in the science world, scientists have used human skin cells and embryonic stem cells to create gametes. This breakthrough at the University of Cambridge is the first for human cells.
First it’s the caramel apples, now it’s contaminated ice cream. Where will the CDC draw the line?
In a recent international outbreak of bacterial infection Listeria, health officials from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have investigated recent deaths and sourced the outbreak back to potentially bad batches of pre-made caramel apples sold in retail stores such as Safeway over the past few months. But now, as the holiday season is in full bloom and more cases are popping up day after day, CDC officials are finding other sources, as well, and are now putting a warning on ice cream potentially infected in some areas of the nation.