Health and Medicine

Almost half of the first top 10 websites displayed by leading search engines on vaccination are emotive “anti” sites, finds a study in the Archives of Disease in Childhood. Many masquerade as official scientific sites, making it easier for users to be misinformed, say the authors.

The researchers keyed in the terms “vaccination” and “immunis(z)ation” into seven leading search engines: Google; Netscape; Altavista; GoTo; HotBot; Lycos; and Yahoo. They then used just the term “vaccination,” for

High levels of personal hygiene increase the risk of eczema and asthma, shows a study of almost 11000 infants in the Archives of Disease in Childhood.

The research focused on participants in a long-term study of parents and children (Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children). Parents were surveyed about their children’s wheezy and eczema symptoms up to the age of 6 months, and then between 30 and 42 months.

A simple hygiene score was derived on the frequency of hand-washing

It’s no coincidence that the process of turning animal skins into leather is called tanning. When people tan, UV radiation from the sun breaks down protein in our skin cells and causes, over time, wrinkles and leathery-looking skin. According to the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD), most sun exposure occurs before the age of 18. With major summer “beach time” remaining, here’s some information from the American Chemical Society, the world’s largest scientific society, on how consumers can prote

Based on a review of research in postmenopausal women and monkeys, Thomas B. Clarkson, D.V.M., of Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, believes that hormone replacement therapy (HRT) has a beneficial role in slowing heart vessel disease after menopause. Clarkson addressed the Third World Congress on Controversies in Obstetrics, Gynecology & Infertility in Washington, D.C. this weekend.

“Mounting evidence points to the conclusion that HRT can help prevent heart vessel disease – if

If grandma gets a bedsore, the best thing to put on it might be a plant that’s been used for 5,000 years.

The mysterious Aloe vera has been a source for healing since Old Testament times, and a Texas A&M University researcher is trying to uncover just what the substances are in the plant that work wonders and how they do it so that more might be learned about treating wounds.

Dr. Ian Tizard, a professor of immunology in the College of Veterinary Medicine, is studying a spe

Highly promising results from clinical trials indicate that alpha-emitting radioisotopes can kill cancer cells. The Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) and Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum presented this innovative therapy during a recent workshop in Heidelberg. Alpha-immunotherapy should develop into an effective treatment over the next few years and provide new methods of healing for patients. How does the cancer-killing mechanism work? A cancer-cell selective vehicle, (e.g. a monocolonal anti