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Wednesday

Gut Microbes May Play Deadly Role In Malnutrition

Twins in Malawi helped scientists discover a role the gut microbiome appears to play in severe malnutrition. Photograph courtesy of Tanya Yatsunenko hide caption

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Photograph courtesy of Tanya Yatsunenko

Shots - Health News

Gut Microbes May Play Deadly Role In Malnutrition

The bacteria that live in humans' guts influence weight gain and health. By studying twins in Malawi, scientists have found that changes in this microbial community may also turn malnutrition into a fatal condition.

Gut Microbes May Play Deadly Role In Malnutrition

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Tuesday

Keep Calm And Carry On, Except When It Comes To Cancer

The British have long said, "Keep calm and carry on." But the catchphrase may need an update for health care. Keepcalm-o-matic.co.uk hide caption

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Keepcalm-o-matic.co.uk

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Keep Calm And Carry On, Except When It Comes To Cancer

That famous stiff upper lip has carried the Brits through tough times, but it can be a risky trait when it comes to health. An international survey finds the British often delay seeking help for serious symptoms of cancer because they're embarrassed or worried about wasting the doctor's time.

Thursday

Saturday

Inching Closer To The Demise Of A Stubborn Parasitic Worm

A boy with multiple Guinea worms sits outside a containment center in northern Ghana, February 2007. Wes Pope/Chicago Tribune/MCT /Landov hide caption

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Wes Pope/Chicago Tribune/MCT /Landov

Shots - Health News

Inching Closer To The Demise Of A Stubborn Parasitic Worm

After a decades-long campaign, Guinea worm remains in only four countries, and eradication is in sight. But health workers say that recent violence in Mali is hindering efforts to stamp out the last few cases there.

Thursday

After Years Of Silence, The Plague Can Rise Again

A copper engraving from 1656 shows a plague doctor in Rome wearing a protective suit and a mask. Artwork by Paul Furst/Wikimedia.org hide caption

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Artwork by Paul Furst/Wikimedia.org

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After Years Of Silence, The Plague Can Rise Again

In many parts of the world, like Europe, the plague is thought to have been eliminated. French scientists find evidence that the stubborn bacteria can trigger new outbreaks even after decades of apparent dormancy.

Wednesday

'Robogut' Makes Synthetic Poop To Treat Stubborn Infections

Microbiologist Emma Allen-Vercoe invented the Robogut, a mechanical device that mimics conditions in the human colon. Courtesy of thestar.com hide caption

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Courtesy of thestar.com

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'Robogut' Makes Synthetic Poop To Treat Stubborn Infections

Canadian scientists have developed a synthetic stool that successfully treated two patients with a severe form of diarrhea. The researchers call the concoction RePOOPulate, and they produce it using a machine that recreates conditions in the colon.

Saturday

After Bringing Cholera To Haiti, U.N. Plans To Get Rid Of It

Haitians protest against the United Nations peacekeepers in Port-au-Prince in November 2010. Hector Retamal/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Hector Retamal/AFP/Getty Images

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After Bringing Cholera To Haiti, U.N. Plans To Get Rid Of It

On the third anniversary of Haiti's devastating earthquake, the country is laying plans to rid itself of the cholera epidemic that followed in its wake. Most scientists now think Nepalese soldiers unwittingly spread the pathogen in Haiti when they joined a United Nations peacekeeping force.

After Bringing Cholera To Haiti, U.N. Plans To Get Rid Of It

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Friday

Despite Billions In Aid, Many Haitians Still Live In Squalid Camps

Jacqueline Syra has been living in the La Piste camp for three years. She says she has no idea when she will be able to leave. David Gilkey/NPR hide caption

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David Gilkey/NPR

Shots - Health News

Despite Billions In Aid, Many Haitians Still Live In Squalid Camps

Three years ago, a massive earthquake destroyed much of Haiti's capital city. Aid agencies from around the world pledged billions of dollars to help Haiti rebuild. But since then, many of the grand plans have fizzled, and some 350,000 Haitians still live in makeshift camps.

Despite Billions In Aid, Many Haitians Still Live In Squalid Camps

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Wednesday

U.S. Ranks Below 16 Other Rich Countries In Health Report
iStockphoto.com

Shots - Health News

U.S. Ranks Below 16 Other Rich Countries In Health Report

Americans are sicker and die sooner than their counterparts in comparable nations. No single cause can account for the difference, but improving medical care will only help so much, as disparities can be traced to dietary choices, drugs and alcohol, guns, and even cars.

U.S. Ranks Below 16 Other Rich Countries In Health Report

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Tuesday

In Canada, Gonorrhea Defeats Another Antibiotic

In the U.S., doctors no longer have the option of treating gonorrhea with a pill. Instead, they are advised to use an injectable antibiotic, which is still effective against the bacteria. iStockphoto.com hide caption

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iStockphoto.com

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In Canada, Gonorrhea Defeats Another Antibiotic

Superstrains of gonorrhea, which are resistant to all antibiotics, have cropped up in Europe and Asia. Now Canadian doctors report the first failure in North America of the usual antibiotic for gonorrhea, leaving just one drug left to fight the sexually transmitted germ.

Friday

Mexico Aims To Save Babies And Moms With Modern Midwifery

Infants used to be born at home to traditional midwives. Mónica Ortiz Uribe hide caption

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Mónica Ortiz Uribe

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Mexico Aims To Save Babies And Moms With Modern Midwifery

At a new school for midwives, students learn old arts, like massaging bellies, while also studying gynecology, obstetrics and nursing. Officials hope a new generation of professional midwives will help reduce the pressures on Mexican hospitals overwhelmed by births that, in the past, would have taken place at home.

Mexico Aims To Save Babies And Moms With Modern Midwifery

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Wednesday

Mosquito Maven Takes Bites For Malaria Research

Chiara Andolina, a malaria researcher in Thailand, feeds her mosquito colony by letting the insects bite her right arm. These mosquitoes are picky and will dine only on live human blood. Ben de la Cruz/NPR hide caption

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Ben de la Cruz/NPR

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Mosquito Maven Takes Bites For Malaria Research

A scientist in Thailand raises mosquito colonies so she can study a new malaria drug. The insects are quite spoiled — they'll eat only live human blood. So she feeds them "breakfast" each day from her right arm.

Mosquito Maven Takes Bites For Malaria Research

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Saturday

As Biodiversity Declines, Tropical Diseases Thrive

Mosquitoes like this one can carry the virus that causes dengue fever, which may become a bigger problem in some regions as biodiversity is lost. James Gathany/CDC Public Health Image Library hide caption

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James Gathany/CDC Public Health Image Library

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As Biodiversity Declines, Tropical Diseases Thrive

Researchers argue that ecology has a pretty big say in whether disease rates increase or die down. They used a new field that blends economics and ecology called "macroecology" to figure out how biodiversity loss affected disease burden.

Wednesday

How The U.S. Stopped Malaria, One Cartoon At A Time

The U.S. Army distributed a monthly pinup calendar to GIs, which encouraged them to protect themselves from malaria-carrying mosquitoes. Cartoon by Frank Mack for the U.S. Army./Courtesy of the Images from the History of Medicine. hide caption

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Cartoon by Frank Mack for the U.S. Army./Courtesy of the Images from the History of Medicine.

Shots - Health News

How The U.S. Stopped Malaria, One Cartoon At A Time

With publicity campaigns, radio jingles and pinups, the government helped eliminate the parasitic disease. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is still fighting malaria at home and abroad.

How The U.S. Stopped Malaria, One Cartoon At A Time

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Controversial Bird Flu Work To Resume Soon

A health official culls chickens on a poultry farm in a village on the outskirts of Katmandu, Nepal. Chickens suspected of being infected with H5N1 bird flu were found in the area in October. Prakash Mathema/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Prakash Mathema/AFP/Getty Images

Shots - Health News

Controversial Bird Flu Work To Resume Soon

Scientists recently sparked controversy when they made dangerous new forms of bird flu. The National Institutes of Health is about to put in place a new system for reviewing this kind of work in the future.