Atlanta, GA…A component of the skin mucus secreted by South Indian frogs can kill the H1 variety of influenza viruses, researchers from Emory Vaccine Center and the Rajiv Gandhi Center for Biotechnology in India have discovered. Frogs’ skins were known to secrete peptides that defend them against bacteria. The finding, published Tuesday in Immunity, suggests […]
Worcester, MA…Researchers face a fundamental challenge as they seek to scale up human tissue regeneration from small lab samples to full-size tissues, bones, even whole organs to implant in people to treat disease or traumatic injuries: how to establish a vascular system that delivers blood deep into the developing tissue. Current bioengineering techniques, including 3-D […]
Duarte, CA…City of Hope researchers recently reported on the successful treatment of a patient with recurrent multifocal glioblastoma using CAR-T therapy, a type of immunotherapy, to effectively attack cells with the IL13Rα2 antigen which is common in brain cancer. A case study published in the Dec. 29 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine […]
Boston, MA….This is the best visualization of the progression of antibiotic bacteria we have ever seen. The following is from the Harvard Medical School that should have all of us cutting back on the antibiotics. “In a creative stroke inspired by Hollywood wizardry, scientists from Harvard Medical School and Technion-Israel Institute of Technology have designed a […]
Miami, FL…The Florida Department of Health has identified an area in one neighborhood of Miami where Zika is being spread by mosquitoes. This guidance is for people who live in or traveled to this area any time after June 15 (based on the earliest time symptoms can start and the maximum 2-week incubation period for […]
Silver Springs, MD…Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration took a major step in making sure consumers have updated nutritional information for most packaged foods sold in the United States, that will help people make informed decisions about the foods they eat and feed their families. “I am thrilled that the FDA has finalized a […]
Raleigh, NC…In a proof-of-concept study, NC State University researchers show that genetically engineered green bottle fly (Lucilia sericata) larvae can produce and secrete a human growth factor – a molecule that helps promote cell growth and wound healing. Sterile, lab-raised green bottle fly larvae are used for maggot debridement therapy (MDT), in which maggots are […]
Salt Lake City, UT…Utah public health officials have confirmed that an elderly resident died from plague earlier this month. This is the first Utah resident to be diagnosed with plague since 2009. Plague is a rare, life-threatening, flea-borne illness that is maintained in a rodent-flea transmission cycle. Species such as prairie dogs, black footed-ferrets, squirrels, […]
Sacramento, CA…California Department of Public Health (CDPH) Director and State Health Officer Dr. Karen Smith announced that the department has been notified of a presumptive positive case of plague contracted by a recent visitor to California from Georgia. Confirmatory testing is being conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Prior to becoming […]
Atlanta, GA..Former President Jimmy Carter held a press conference this morning to deliver the news that his cancer has spread to his brain. He has four small melanoma lesions on his brain and begins his first radiation treatment this afternoon. He was upbeat, positive, honest and at times humorous 39th President of the United States […]