WHAT: A research project funded by the National Institutes of Health has identified differences in the vaginal bacteria that may raise the risk of preterm birth among pregnant African-American women. The findings could be a first step toward the development of a screen for the early identification of preterm birth risk in this population. The…
IMAGE: Dr. Carol Wagner, a neonatologist at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), led a recent MUSC study, reported in the Journal of Perinatology, examining the effects of vitamin D… view more Vitamin D, sometimes known as the sunshine vitamin, has long been known to be important for a healthy pregnancy. Pregnant mothers take vitamin…
The human body’s mechanisms are marvelous, yet they haven’t given up all their secrets. In order to truly conquer human disease, it is crucial to understand what happens at the most elementary level. Essential functions of the cell are carried out by protein molecules, which interact with each other in varying complexity. When a virus…
May 29, 2019 — A study led by Columbia Mailman School examined the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) program to understand residents’ experiences and their perspective on the program. The study published in Housing Policy Debates is among the first to examine the impact of RAD which aims…
DURHAM , N.C. — Birds may not have a word for maroon. Or burnt sienna. But show a zebra finch a sunset-colored object, and she’ll quickly decide whether it looks more like “red” or “orange.” A Duke University study shows that birds mentally sort the range of hues on the blue-green side of the spectrum…
Opening statements in the country’s first trial over whether a pharmaceutical company is liable for the opioid crisis began as a battle between fire and ice: Lawyers for Oklahoma, a state brought to its knees by addiction and overdose deaths, heatedly accused Johnson & Johnson of creating a deadly demand for the drugs, while the…
Nearly everyone will wake up in the middle of the night at some point in their life. For many, the cause is benign and short-lived, such as needing to urinate due to drinking too much liquid before bed. However, regularly waking up in the middle of the night can become problematic, as it interrupts sleep.…
LONDON — A man who died after going into convulsions while flying from Colombia to Japan was found to have swallowed 246 tiny packages of cocaine, officials said. The man, a 42-year-old Japanese citizen who had begun his journey in Bogotá, became ill on an Aeromexico flight from Mexico City to Tokyo, which then made…
Large doses of vitamin B supplements are linked to an increased risk for hip fracture in older women, researchers report. The recommended dietary allowance for healthy women over 50 — 2.4 micrograms of B12 and 1.5 milligrams of B6 — would be fulfilled by eating six ounces of cooked tuna, and there are many other…
I was a month shy of turning 16 when a red-faced man in a white coat told me I had been born without a uterus. With a huge dark desk between us, he told me I would never menstruate, and would need plastic surgery to correct the anomaly of my vaginal opening that was a…