WITS A-rated scientists to focus on pneumococcal disease

The University of Witwatersrand (Wits) Faculty of Health Sciences Research Office will host its fifth prestigious research lecture on Wednesday 25 May 2011 at the Johannesburg Hospital Auditorium at 5.30pm. The focus of the lecture will be pneumococcal disease. Read more >>

Super breeds of germs defeating science

For decades, scientists developed new antibiotics to beat bacteria that mutated. But no longer. Welcome to a world where the drugs don't work. Read more >>

Rising costs concern for SA health sector

Rising healthcare costs are the biggest concern for employers, brokers and medical schemes within the healthcare industry, findings from the 2010 OMAC Actuaries & Consultants Healthcare Survey reveal. Read more >>

Feet first?

Old mitochondria might be responsible for neuropathy in the extremities; study finds long journey of organelles to feet and hands leads to dysfunction, pain. Read more >>

Scientists discover mechanism involved in breast cancer's spread to bone

In a discovery that may lead to a new treatment for breast cancer that has spread to the bone, a Princeton University research team has unravelled a mystery about how these tumours take root. Read more >>

Study finds that learning language goes beyond imitation

In a language study exploring how people learn correct word use, researchers at Princeton University and the University of Illinois found that language learning goes well beyond simple imitation, and is in fact creative. Read more >>

Study shows living at higher altitudes reduces risk of dying from heart disease

In one of the most comprehensive studies of its kind, researchers at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in partnership with the Harvard School of Global Health have found that people living at higher altitudes have a lower chance of dying from ischemic heart disease. Read more >>

New device uses submarine technology to diagnose stroke quickly

A medical device developed by retired U.S. Navy sonar experts, using submarine technology, is a new paradigm for the detection, diagnosis and monitoring of stroke, says a team of interventional radiologists at the Society of Interventional Radiology's 36th Annual Scientific Meeting in Chicago. Read more >>

Plastic surgery the key to historic first US full face transplant

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), is proud to announce multiple members participated in last week's first full face transplant on 25-year-old burn victim Dallas Wiens of Texas. Read more >>

How brain adapts to loss of sight

Mechanisms underlying improved somatosensory function of animals with visual loss - the study by Takuya Takahashi, Professor of Graduate School of Medicine, is published online in Neuron. Read more >>

Experts seek WHO nod for postpartum haemorrhage drug

A drug many health experts say can drastically cut postpartum haemorrhage - the leading cause of maternal deaths in the developing world - will be in the spotlight this month during the World Health Organization's (WHO) biennial review of its model list of essential medicines. Read more >>

University of Colorado team identifies new colon cancer marker

A research team at the University of Colorado Cancer Centre has identified an enzyme that could be used to diagnose colon cancer earlier. It is possible that this enzyme also could be a key to stopping the cancer. Read more >>

The future of breast cancer prevention

Drugs could be used to prevent breast cancer in women at high risk of the disease in the same way that statins are used for heart disease if trials looking at ways of predicting risk are successful, according to an international panel of cancer experts. Read more >>

Remove children's catheters as soon as possible to prevent bloodstream infections

Hospitals can reduce the risk of life-threatening bloodstream infections in children with peripherally inserted central venous catheters by assessing daily the patient's progress and removing the device as early as possible, according to a new Johns Hopkins Children's Centre study published online 31 March in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases. Read more >>

PIASA welcomes new members

The Pharmaceutical Industry Association of South Africa (PIASA) has welcomed two new members, namely ACRO and Genop Healthcare. Read more >>

Workers guilty of sick leave abuses

A new survey had thrown the spotlight on increased abuse of sick leave in all sectors of the economy, Michael Bagraim, a labour lawyer, said yesterday. Read more >>

Beat the flu this winter

Private sector releases first vaccinations to meet growing demand ahead of 2011 flu season March 2011. Read more >>

A new approach to TB diagnosis in SA

Médecins Sans Frontières reports on their success with decentralised multidrug-resistant tuberculosis care. With a new TB test and a community-based approach, they are able to get more patients on to treatment, sooner. Read more >>

First study to look at needs of women with Triple Negative breast cancer

Pilot study looking at stress, anxiety of aggressive breast cancer striking young minorities. Read more >>

Entries open: The Framepool/ LBB/ FireFlies Challenge

LONDON, UK / MUNICH, GERMANY / PARIS, FRANCE / LOS ANGELES, US: Framepool, the footage collection run by filmmakers, has opened its call for entries for the 2011 Framepool / LBB / FireFlies Challenge. This short-film competition is aimed at the world's directors who want to present their films to a highly prominent jury - while supporting a good cause. Read more >>