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Harvard World Health News Highlights:
Down Syndrome Now Detectable in First Trimester
Rob Stein (The Washington Post, Nov. 10, 2005)
"A first-trimester screening test can reliably identify fetuses likely to be born with Down syndrome, providing expectant women with that information much earlier in a pregnancy than current testing allows, according to a major study being released today."
(Free registration required.)
Extreme Cleanup on Tap in New Orleans
Randy Lee Loftis (The Dallas Morning News, Nov. 6, 2005)
"The Army Corps of Engineers is planning one of the biggest environmental cleanups ever attempted: scraping miles of sediment laced with cancer-causing chemicals from New Orleans' hurricane-flooded neighborhoods, The Dallas Morning News has learned. Contaminants in the sediment include toxic metals, industrial compounds, petroleum byproducts and a banned insecticide, all at levels that signal potential cancer risks or other long-term hazards, a News review of government test results shows."
Free registration required.
The Struggle Against Superbugs
(The Economist, Nov. 3, 2005)
"Rarely does a bacterium become the fuel for a national election campaign. Staphylococcus aureus, though, won just such a dubious distinction earlier this year when a drug-resistant form known as MRSA became a byword for the filthy state of British hospitals. As ever, the truth is more prosaic than election hype. MRSA is a global problem, as indeed is the rise of other drug-resistant 'superbugs.' Science is struggling to cope."
Edible Vaccines 'To Replace Jabs'
(BBC News Online, Nov. 6, 2005)
"An edible allergy vaccine could one day replace injections, a study says...The Japanese researchers said the rice-based vaccine they tested on mice is less dangerous and more simple. They wrote in the journal Proceedings of The National Academy of Sciences that it 'opens new possibilities' for allergy treatment in the future."
Green Tea as Cancer Fighter? Still Brewing
Alice Lesch Kelly and Rosie Mestel (Los Angeles Times, Nov. 7, 2005)
"Scientists say that despite the unanswered questions green tea still shows promise, not only as a potential cancer-protector but also against other health threats such as cardiovascular disease, and possibly Alzheimer's. But they also are mindful that many a cell in a dish has been vanquished, and many a mouse cured of cancer, from therapies that don't ultimately pan out in human populations."
Free registration required.
Down Syndrome Now Detectable in First Trimester
Rob Stein (The Washington Post, Nov. 10, 2005)
"A first-trimester screening test can reliably identify fetuses likely to be born with Down syndrome, providing expectant women with that information much earlier in a pregnancy than current testing allows, according to a major study being released today."
(Free registration required.)
Extreme Cleanup on Tap in New Orleans
Randy Lee Loftis (The Dallas Morning News, Nov. 6, 2005)
"The Army Corps of Engineers is planning one of the biggest environmental cleanups ever attempted: scraping miles of sediment laced with cancer-causing chemicals from New Orleans' hurricane-flooded neighborhoods, The Dallas Morning News has learned. Contaminants in the sediment include toxic metals, industrial compounds, petroleum byproducts and a banned insecticide, all at levels that signal potential cancer risks or other long-term hazards, a News review of government test results shows."
Free registration required.
The Struggle Against Superbugs
(The Economist, Nov. 3, 2005)
"Rarely does a bacterium become the fuel for a national election campaign. Staphylococcus aureus, though, won just such a dubious distinction earlier this year when a drug-resistant form known as MRSA became a byword for the filthy state of British hospitals. As ever, the truth is more prosaic than election hype. MRSA is a global problem, as indeed is the rise of other drug-resistant 'superbugs.' Science is struggling to cope."
Edible Vaccines 'To Replace Jabs'
(BBC News Online, Nov. 6, 2005)
"An edible allergy vaccine could one day replace injections, a study says...The Japanese researchers said the rice-based vaccine they tested on mice is less dangerous and more simple. They wrote in the journal Proceedings of The National Academy of Sciences that it 'opens new possibilities' for allergy treatment in the future."
Green Tea as Cancer Fighter? Still Brewing
Alice Lesch Kelly and Rosie Mestel (Los Angeles Times, Nov. 7, 2005)
"Scientists say that despite the unanswered questions green tea still shows promise, not only as a potential cancer-protector but also against other health threats such as cardiovascular disease, and possibly Alzheimer's. But they also are mindful that many a cell in a dish has been vanquished, and many a mouse cured of cancer, from therapies that don't ultimately pan out in human populations."
Free registration required.
