Disease, Study | featured news

Chinese scientists have for the first time found strong evidence of how humans got infected with a new strain of bird flu: from chickens at a live market. In a small study of four patients who caught the new H7N9 virus, Chinese scientists compared swabs from birds at live markets in eastern China to virus samples from patients. The scientists found the virus from one patient was nearly identical to one found in a chicken. The research was published online Thursday in the journal Lancet.

By tracking one patient’s immune response, scientists have tracked how a series of mutations led to an antibody that can defeat many H.I.V. strains.

How can a cancer come back after it’s apparently been eradicated? Three new studies are bolstering a long-debated idea: that tumors contain their own pool of stem cells that can multiply and keep fueling the cancer, seeding regrowth.

An "early and aggressive" approach to people on the cusp of developing Type 2 diabetes is needed to reduce cases of the disease, a study suggests.

In some cases, Alzheimer's disease may in fact be the result of an infection, and may be even be transmissible, a new study in mice suggests.

Health officials are concerned about the trend at a time when many infectious diseases are making a comeback.

According to a 2000 survey, Americans' worst fear is a cancer diagnosis. One out of every three women and one out of every two men will be diagnosed with cancer in her or his lifetime. It's against this backdrop that the American Association for Cancer Research, which bills itself as the world's largest cancer research organization, posed the question: Where do we stand in the war against cancer?

Mayo Clinic researchers have developed a genome-based immunization strategy to fight feline AIDS and illuminate ways to combat human HIV/AIDS and other diseases. The goal is to create cats with intrinsic immunity to the feline AIDS virus.

Scientists are reporting the first clear success with a new approach for treating leukemia - turning the patients' own blood cells into assassins that hunt and destroy their cancer cells....

Two new studies found that daily pills prevented infection with the AIDS virus in heterosexual men and women in Africa, bringing new hope for someday offering a medical shield against HIV infection....