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The Measles Initiative partnership a significant reason for success

The results from a new study published in The Lancet demonstrate that high- quality measles immunization campaigns and improvements in routine immunization services have reduced measles cases by 91% in 19 African nations from 2000-2003, preventing an estimated 90,000 child deaths in 2003 alone.

6 Sep 2005

Alcohol-based hand sanitizer gel significantly reduces the spread of gastrointestinal infections in the home

In a study of 292 Greater Boston families - half of which were given hand sanitizer - those that used the gel had a 59 percent reduction in the spread of GI illnesses.

6 Sep 2005

Fewer antibiotic prescriptions leads to fewer superbugs

That's the take-home message behind a new study in the Oct. 15 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases, now available online. The study found that reducing antibiotic use for pediatric respiratory tract infections resulted in lower rates of carriage of drug-resistant bacteria.

6 Sep 2005

Children who use community health centers may be at a particularly high risk of being obese

Children who use community health centers may be at a particularly high risk of being obese, according to a new study. This association between obesity and the type of health delivery system used was present regardless of race, ethnicity or geographic characteristics.

6 Sep 2005

Gene B-myb essential in preventing tumors

A new study has confirmed that research done with zebrafish may be able to play a critical role in learning about the genetic basis of cancer and the mutations that can lead to it - and identified one gene in particular, B-myb, whose function is essential to preventing tumors.

5 Sep 2005

Single molecular anchor holds the key to treating many types of bacterial meningitis

By blocking the molecule's anchoring ability, researchers may be able to find a way to stave off the most common serious infection of the central nervous system and a major cause of childhood death and disability. The researchers' findings appear in the September 2005 issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

5 Sep 2005

Young children far more aware of parents smoking and drinking than might be thought

According to a new study, even children as young as 2 years old are influenced by whether their parents smoke and drink alcohol.

5 Sep 2005

Chernobyl: The True Scale of the Accident

A total of up to four thousand people could eventually die of radiation exposure from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant (NPP) accident nearly 20 years ago, an international team of more than 100 scientists has concluded.

5 Sep 2005

Parasite could help prevent asthma

Asthma in Britain has reached epidemic proportions and the country now has one of the highest numbers of sufferers of the allergy in the world; in Ireland alone it is reported that as many as 30% of all schoolchildren have symptoms of the disease.

5 Sep 2005

Greater public awareness needed after death of woman from rabies

Scientists in the UK who have been looking into the death of a British woman from rabies are now demanding greater public awareness of the very real dangers posed by the infection.

5 Sep 2005

Dyslexia overdiagnosed and a 'construct' says educationalist

According to a British professor dyslexia, an illness which afflicts millions of people is over diagnosed, and a "construct" with no scientific basis which had gained worldwide currency.

5 Sep 2005

South Sudan in the grip of an HIV/AIDS epidemic

According to a United Nations report, Southern Sudan is in the midst of an HIV/AIDS epidemic and most of its people are without clean water, sanitation or education services.

5 Sep 2005

Lack of exposure to dirt and common viral infections among children could be behind the rise in the levels of asthma

Scientists believe that knowing exactly which type of dirt provides the best 'education' for the immune system, could be key to providing new treatments for diseases such as asthma.

4 Sep 2005

Rett Syndrome gene discovery

Adrian Bird of the University of Edinburgh and colleagues report in the online issue of Molecular Cell that the "Rett Syndrome protein", MeCP2, only binds to genes with a specific sequence of nucleotide bases. This knowledge will aid in the identification of the genes that are regulated by the gene MECP2

4 Sep 2005

Health leaders to tour evacuee sites in hurricane region

According to reports Secretary Mike Leavitt is taking a team of health care, public health and social service leaders to Louisiana and the Gulf Region as part of ongoing efforts to extend care and services to where evacuees of Hurricane Katrina are located.

4 Sep 2005

Chicken pox vaccine associated with shingles epidemic

New research published in the International Journal of Toxicology (IJT) by Gary S. Goldman, Ph.D., reveals high rates of shingles (herpes zoster) in Americans since the government's 1995 recommendation that all children receive chicken pox vaccine.

1 Sep 2005

Can a new combination treatment prevent a secondary stroke in children with sickle cell anemia?

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital will lead a national Phase III clinical trial to investigate whether a new combination treatment can prevent a secondary stroke in children with sickle cell anemia (SCA) and eliminate the need for nightly injections with a drug that reduces iron overload in these patients.

1 Sep 2005

C. elegans worm provides clues to dealing with human disease

A step towards understanding cell mutations that cause a variety of human diseases, particularly in children -- including that which brings about premature aging and early death -- has been taken by researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem Silberman Institute of Life Sciences and the John Hopkins University School of Medicine.

1 Sep 2005

Discovery of gene that may play a role in centronuclear myopathy

By studying the molecules that regulate the formation of muscle, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have discovered a gene that may play a role in a rare muscular disease in humans.

31 Aug 2005

Charles Darwin was right and chimp gene map proves it

According to scientists who have mapped the complete chimp genome and compared it to the human gene map, there is little genetic difference between humans and chimps, but those differences count for a lot.

31 Aug 2005