New imaging techniques are fuelling an epidemic in diagnosis and treatment of thyroid cancers that are unlikely to ever progress to cause symptoms or death, warn experts on bmj.com. New technologies such as ultrasound, CT and MRI scanning can detect thyroid nodules as small as 2mm - many of...
A gene associated with both protection against bacterial infection and excessive blood clotting could offer new insights into treatment strategies for deep-vein thrombosis - the formation of a harmful clot in a deep vein. The gene produces an enzyme that, if inhibited via a specific drug...
Nitrogen in ocean waters fuels the growth of two tiny but toxic phytoplankton species that are harmful to marine life and human health, warns a new study published in the Journal of Phycology. Researchers from San Francisco State University found that nitrogen entering the ocean -- whether...
Kids still exposed to dangers of second hand smoke as public bans don't target cars and homes, warn researchers Just 10 minutes spent in the back seat of a car with a smoker in the front, boosts a child's daily exposure to harmful pollutants by up to 30%, reveals research published online in...
The genes responsible for inherited diseases are clearly bad for us, so why hasn't evolution, over time, weeded them out and eliminated them from the human genome altogether? Part of the reason seems to be that genes that can harm us at one stage of our lives are necessary and beneficial to us...
New Zealanders who are victims of serious personal attacks in cyber-space will have access to a specialist Communications Tribunal with the power to issue takedown orders and to reveal the identities of anonymous offenders if the Law Commission's latest recommendations to Government are adopted.
Scientists working on a huge project that has mapped all the different microbes that live in and on a healthy human body have made a number of remarkable discoveries, including the fact that harmful bacteria can live in healthy bodies and co-exist with their host and other microbes without...
Alcoholism can disrupt memory functioning well before incurring the profound amnesia of Korsakoff's syndrome. For example, associative memory - used in remembering face-name associations - can be impaired in alcoholics. A study of the cognitive and brain mechanisms underlying this deficit...
The latest episode in the American Chemical Society's (ACS) award-winning "Global Challenges/Chemistry Solutions" podcast series discusses the discovery that household washing machines seem to be a major source of so-called "microplastic" pollution -- bits of polyester and acrylic smaller than...
New methods speed up the process of identifying the subgroup of E. coli bacteria responsible for an outbreak of illness. Swift identification may spare lives. In recent years, there have been several serious outbreaks of E. coli in Norway, causing grave illness and even death for some of the...
I have a three and a half year old labrador retriever. My dog urinates mostly on concrete. The urine often spreads to his paws and I was wondering if this is harmful to him? His paws are red and he always licks at them! Should I take him to the vet?
Spas that offer massage therapy using fragrant essential oils, called aromatherapy, may have elevated levels of potentially harmful indoor air pollutants such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and ultrafine particles, according to an article in Environmental Engineering Science, a...
A major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and other health- and life-threatening conditions, obesity is epidemic in the United States and other developed nations where it's fueled in large part by excessive consumption of a fat-rich "Western diet." But not all fats are...