http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Earlier this month, the U.S. government declared that the emerging H7N9 bird flu "poses a significant potential for a public health emergency." The virus, a relative of other bird flus we've seen previously like H1N1 and H5N1, originated in China and results in a severe respiratory infection and, in some cases, death. While the virus is not, at this time, transmissible between humans, researchers believe that just a few genetic mutations could change that. Network scientist Alessandro Vespignani, the Sternberg Family Distinguished University Professor of physics, computer science, and health sciences, is mapping the disease's progression in his lab. We asked him to discuss the pandemic potential of the virus and explain how this strain differs from those in the past. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-bird-flu-virus.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 14 May 2013 07:10:06 EST news287733012 (HealthDay)—Most Chinese patients with confirmed avian influenza A (H7N9) are critically ill and 21 percent have died, according to a preliminary report published online April 24 in the New England Journal of Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-h7n9-avian-flu-critically-ill.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 25 Apr 2013 16:10:01 EST news286121557 "Aiden, look!" piped NAO, a two-foot tall humanoid robot, as it pointed to a flat-panel display on a far wall. As the cartoon dog Scooby Doo flashed on the screen, Aiden, a young boy with an unruly thatch of straw-colored hair, looked in the direction the robot was pointing. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-humanoid-robot-children-autism.html Autism spectrum disorders Wed, 20 Mar 2013 16:02:51 EST news283014163 Dr. Andrea Dugas recalled widespread skepticism at a medical conference a few years ago when a colleague suggested that social media mentions and search volume could one day forecast flu activity. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-flu-watchers-social-media.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Fri, 18 Jan 2013 11:50:01 EST news277730358 New York's governor declared a public health emergency Saturday for the state because of the severity of the flu season, as officials across the U.S. grapple with the worst flu outbreak in several years. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-flu-emergency-declared-ny-20k.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Sat, 12 Jan 2013 17:45:51 EST news277235136 The United States was in the grip Thursday of a deadly influenza outbreak that has hit harder and earlier than in previous years, and has claimed the lives of at least 18 children. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-massive-flu-outbreak.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Fri, 11 Jan 2013 06:13:02 EST news277107176 Massachusetts public health officials are reporting 18 flu-related deaths in the state already this season, and Boston has declared a public health emergency. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-flu-season-boston-declaring-health.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 09 Jan 2013 13:22:21 EST news276960134 The research undertaken by researchers at University College, Imperial College, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine is the first ever detailed assessment of infectious diseases investments made by funding organisations to UK institutions. The study shows that gastrointestinal infections, antimicrobial resistance, and some neglected tropical diseases such as trachoma, the commonest infectious cause of blindness globally, receive particularly low levels of investment from UK funders, relative to the disability and death that they cause. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-uk-funding-infectious-disease-neglects.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 08 Nov 2012 18:30:01 EST news271614055 Weill Cornell Medical College researchers report that mass spectrometry, a tool currently used to detect and measure proteins and lipids, can also now allow biologists to "see" for the first time exactly how drugs work inside living cells to kill infectious microbes. As a result, scientists may be able to improve existing antibiotics and design new, smarter ones to fight deadly infections, such as tuberculosis. The new study was published in today's early online edition of Science. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-mass-spectrometry-antibiotics-tuberculosis-bacteria.html Medical research Thu, 01 Nov 2012 14:03:39 EST news270997385 The war on tuberculosis is getting new weapons for the first time in decades, offering hope for controlling the deadly disease but major funding shortfalls threaten progress, the World Health Organization said Wednesday. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-tb-global-burden-huge.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 17 Oct 2012 10:40:15 EST news269689199 A novel drug that mimics a naturally occurring molecule found in coffee and blueberries has been developed to treat radiation exposure. Charles R. Yates, Pharm.D., Ph.D., and colleagues Duane Miller, Ph.D., and Waleed Gaber, Ph.D., from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center and Baylor College of Medicine, show that application of this drug, starting 24 hours after radiation exposure, increases survival in animal models by three-fold compared to placebo. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-treatment-significantly-survival.html Cancer Tue, 16 Oct 2012 10:37:35 EST news269602649 (Medical Xpress)—Entomologists and public health officials are worried that a near record number of Georgians will be sickened with West Nile virus in 2012. The virus usually peaks between Aug. 15 and Sep. 15 in Georgia but had an earlier start this year. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-west-nile-year-uga-mosquito.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 27 Aug 2012 09:20:18 EST news265278008 Shortages of key drugs used to fight infections represent a public health emergency and can put patients at risk, according to a review published in Clinical Infectious Diseases and available online. Frequent anti-infective shortages can substantially alter clinical care and may lead to worse outcomes for patients, particularly as the development of new anti-infectives has slowed and the prevalence of multidrug-resistant pathogens is increasing. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-anti-infective-drug-shortages-pose-threat.html Medications Fri, 20 Jan 2012 04:30:02 EST news246254400 A study of a controversial housing project that allows chronically homeless people with severe alcohol problems to drink in their apartments found that during their first two years in the building residents cut their heavy drinking by 35 percent. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-homeless-heavy-drinkers-imbibe-housing.html Health Thu, 19 Jan 2012 16:00:03 EST news246209108 (AP) -- Health officials say there has not been a case of polio in India for nine months, the longest the country has ever been polio free. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-india-polio.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 24 Oct 2011 04:29:21 EST news238649350 What's killing us? For decades, global health leaders have focused on diseases that can spread - AIDS, tuberculosis, new flu bugs. They pushed for vaccines, better treatments and other ways to control germs that were only a plane ride away from seeding outbreaks anywhere in the world. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-global-killers-heart-lung-disease.html Health Wed, 14 Sep 2011 10:53:25 EST news235216372