Anti-cancer vaccine implant begins human trials in US
Email this page WASHINGTON, September 6, 2013 (AFP) – An experimental vaccine implant to treat skin cancer has begun early trials in humans, as part of a growing effort to train the immune system to fight tumors, researchers said Friday. The approach, which was shown to work in lab mice in 2009, involves placing a fingernail-sized […]
Statins may prevent aging and extend lifespan
Email this page (VOA) Statins, long prescribed to those with high cholesterol, may actually prevent aging and extend lifespan, according to new research in the September 2013 issue of The FASEB Journal. The research indicates that statins reduce the speed at which telomeres shorten, a key factor in the aging process. A telomere is a region of […]
Scientists grow miniature human brains from stem cells
Email this page (AFP) – Scientists said Wednesday they had used stem cells to grow primitive human brain tissue for use in studying disorders and early development of this most complex of organs. They used the cells to grow what they dubbed “cerebral organoids” — pea-sized blobs of 3D brain tissue in a Petri dish, […]
Outbreak of bovine rabies in Guanacaste and Puntarenas
Email this page August 29th, 2013 (InsideCostaRica.com) The National Animal Health Service (Senasa) has reported three outbreaks of bovine paralytic rabies on cattle farms in Guanacaste and Puntarenas in recent days. Rabies is a viral disease that affects the central nervous system of warm-blooded animals, including humans, and can lead to death. SENASA […]
Disabling Protein Cripples Cancer Cells
Email this page Jessica Berman / VOA Scientists have successfully crippled aggressive cancer cells by disabling a single protein known as an ether lipid, part of a family of fatty molecules that includes cholesterol. Researchers hope to develop drugs that can be used alongside chemotherapy to treat some malignant cancers. Ether lipids are highly elevated […]
Study Adds Lung Damage to Arsenic’s Harmful Effects
Email this page August 27th, 2013 (InsideCostaRica.com) Arsenic has been linked to cancer, cardiovascular disease and cognitive deficits. A new study confirms that even low exposure to the toxic element in drinking water can impair lung function. And smoking makes the damage worse. The study was part of a long-term project conducted in Bangladesh, where […]
Law forces CCSS to spend millions on artwork instead of patient care
Email this page August 23rd, 2013 (InsideCostaRica.com) Costa Rica’s public healthcare system, CCSS (Caja) is challenging a 1982 law that requires it to divert millions of dollars that could be used for patient care to the purchase of works of art in order to “stimulate” the arts in Costa Rica. Since the law was […]
Body odor and smelly feet increase risk of dengue infection
Email this page August 23rd, 2013 (InsideCostaRica.com) Body odor is one of the factors that may increase the chance of being bitten by the mosquito that carries the dengue virus, according to former Minister of Health, Maria Luisa Avila. “A person who does not have good personal hygiene and smells strongly of sweat is […]
