Disease-causing organisms can be present in some areas where their hosts are not. If their hosts arrive, novel disease outbreaks may result. In the first comprehensive genetic analysis of an invasive marine host and its parasites, researchers trace invasion pathways of snails and trematodes from Japan to North America.
Biophan Technologies, Inc., a developer of next-generation medical technology, in conjunction with MYOTECH, LLC, recently presented results of animal studies that indicate the potential of the MYO-VAD, a cardiac support system to significantly improve the treatment of heart failure. The MYO-VAD restores cardiac output on an arrested or weak heart. The device can be implanted in approximately three minutes.
HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt today announced the United States has formally accepted the revised International Health Regulations (IHR), and will begin the process of implementing these new international rules immediately instead of waiting for them to take effect in June 2007. Secretary Leavitt made the announcement during a week-long visit to the People?s Republic of China.
Recreating growth conditions in flea carriers and mammal hosts, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory scientists have uncovered 176 proteins and likely proteins in the plague-bacterium Yersinia pestis whose numbers rise and fall according to the disease’s virulence.
Scientists have discovered that autoimmunity can be triggered in the thymus, where the immune system’s T cells develop, if T cells fail to recognize just one of the body’s thousands of proteins as “self.”
An environmental drama played out on the world stage in the late 18th century when a volcano killed 9,000 Icelanders and brought a famine to Egypt that reduced the population of the Nile valley by a sixth. A study by three scientists demonstrates a connection between these two widely separated events, and is the first to conclusively establish the linkage between high-latitude eruptions and the water supply in North Africa.
To find a cure for cancer, the modern-day plague of our society — is synonymous to finding the holy grail of science. At a recent EuroDYNA conference in Brno, Czech Republic, scientists from around Europe came together to share their research carried out in the field of genetics and cell nucleus architecture. A greater understanding of the body’s building blocks might ultimately lead to a better understanding of human disease.
The fertility problems and hormone irregularities that plague women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) may improve on a low-carbohydrate diet, according to a new study.
Protect against type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and obesity with the proven goodness of high fiber diet and foods.
FDA has approved Vaccinia Immune Globulin Intravenous (VIGIV) — the first intravenous human plasma-derived product available to treat certain rare complications of smallpox vaccination. VIGIV, licensed to DynPort Vaccine Company LLC, in Frederick, Md., is made from the pooled plasma of donors who received booster immunizations with the licensed smallpox vaccine — Dryvax. This plasma contains increased levels of protective antibodies against the vaccinia virus, the live virus used in the currently available smallpox vaccine. The vaccinia virus is similar to the smallpox virus, but does not cause smallpox.