Health | WPN World People News

Scientists uncovered a high-resolution map of the wiring inside the mouse brain’s thirst center. With these blueprints, they could trick mice into becoming light or heavy water drinkers. Moreover, they discovered a quenching circuit that knew when to tell the brain, “Stop, the body has had enough.” Supported, in part, by the NIH’s Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Technologies (BRAIN) Initiative, the results may also provide a glimpse into the rules that govern how the brains circuits work.

Nearly 90 percent of participants in an open-label study of a vaginal ring infused with a drug to prevent HIV are using the monthly ring at least some of the time, according to an interim analysis of study data. In addition, the rate of HIV infection among participants in the open-label study, which has no placebo arm for comparison, is half of what might be expected in the absence of the ring, according to mathematical modeling that has significant limitations.

Data from emergency departments (EDs) show that the U.S. opioid overdose epidemic continues to worsen, according to the latest Vital Signs report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

A new World Bank report finds that Afghanistan has shown improved health outcomes since 2003, with health services that have remained resilient even in highly insecure provinces. The report entitled Progress in the Face of Insecurity: Improving Health Outcomes in Afghanistan, finds however that the uptick in insecurity since 2010 has slowed some gains.

"We've got an emergency on our hands," said acting director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control Anne Schuchat, as the agency released a report saying emergency room visits due to opioid overdose have increased an average of 30 percent nationwide.

Scanning electron micrograph of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacteria that cause tuberculosis.

HIV-infected T cell.

Researchers have found that temporarily increasing the dosage of inhaled steroids when asthma symptoms begin to worsen does not effectively prevent severe flare-ups, and may be associated with slowing a child’s growth, challenging a common medical practice involving children with mild-to-moderate asthma.

WHO was announced a new high-level commission, comprised of heads of state and ministers, leaders in health and development and entrepreneurs, on March 1st. The group will propose bold and innovative solutions to accelerate prevention and control of the leading killers on the planet – noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) like heart and lung disease, cancers, and diabetes.

Children eat a meal at their school which is taking part in a school feeding programme in Latin America and the Caribbean.