Author: contributor
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Japan’s Ohsumi wins Nobel Medicine Prize for work on cell ‘recycling’
Yoshinori Ohsumi of Japan on Monday won the Nobel Medicine Prize for his work on autophagy — a process whereby cells “eat themselves” — which when disrupted can cause Parkinson's and diabetes. Autophagy is a fundamental process in cell physiology with major implications for human health and disease. The process is essential for the orderly degradation and recycling of damaged…
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Zika-related birth defects likely higher than anticipated: panel
By Bill Berkrot BOSTON (Reuters) – The risk posed by the Zika virus to developing fetuses is likely far greater than current estimates suggest, a top U.S. health official said on Thursday. Microcephaly, a rare birth defect in which babies develop abnormally small heads, is one of a constellation of Zika-associated problems increasingly being seen…
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Ex-Insys sales manager arrested in U.S. fentanyl-kickback case
Jeffrey Pearlman, 49, was charged in a criminal complaint filed in federal court in New Haven, Connecticut, becoming the latest individual to face prosecution in connection with probes involving Insys’ drug Subsys. Prosecutors did not identify Insys by name, but a LinkedIn profile for Pearlman showed he worked at Insys from 2012 to 2015, and…
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Warplanes knock out Aleppo hospital as Russian-backed assault intensifies
By Ellen Francis and Tom Perry BEIRUT (Reuters) – Russian or Syrian warplanes knocked a major Aleppo hospital out of service on Wednesday, hospital workers said, and ground forces intensified an assault on the city's besieged rebel sector, in a battle that has become a potentially decisive turning point in the civil war. The World…
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Bombers of civilians in Aleppo will face God’s judgment: pope
Pope Francis urged forces to stop bombing civilians in the Syrian city of Aleppo, warning them on Wednesday they would face God’s judgment. Speaking to tens of thousands of people in St. Peter’s Square, Francis called Aleppo “this already martyred city, where everybody is dying – children, old people, sick people, young people.” He did…
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Mother sues U.S. hospital for discriminating against dead transgender son
The mother of a transgender boy filed a lawsuit against a U.S. hospital on Monday claiming its medical staff repeatedly addressed her son – who later committed suicide – as a girl. In the landmark case, Katharine Prescott argues the Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego (RCHSD) in California discriminated against her transgender son based on his…
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Cancer patients may be overly optimistic about early drug trial participation
By Andrew M. Seaman (Reuters Health) – People with cancer may overestimate the possible benefits to them of participating in an early trial of a new medicine, even after talking with a doctor about what to expect, according to a new study from the U.K. So-called phase 1 trials of experimental treatments are intended to…
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Kite immunotherapy drug helps blood cancer patients in study
(Reuters) – Kite Pharma Inc on Monday said its experimental CAR T-cell therapy, which helps the immune system fight cancer, was highly effective in treating aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphoma, although two deaths were related to the drug, according to interim data from a midstage trial. Shares of Kite, which had been halted before the release of…
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Mother uncovers lasting impact of baby son’s organ donation
An ultrasound showed one of Sarah Gray's unborn twins was missing part of his brain, a fatal birth defect. His brother was born healthy but Thomas lived just six days. Latching onto hope for something …
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AIDS pageant in Uganda seeks to stem stigma, discrimination
KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — When she was younger, Tryphena Natukunda's mother discouraged her from swallowing her antiretroviral medicines among strangers or even distant relatives.