Health | WPN World People News

A variety of antiretroviral drugs used to treat HIV infection.

Birth defects most strongly linked to Zika virus infection during pregnancy have increased in parts of the United States that have had local Zika virus transmission, according to a report in CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). Areas with local transmission of Zika – southern Florida, a portion of south Texas, and Puerto Rico – saw a 21 percent increase in births with outcomes most strongly linked to Zika virus in the last half of 2016 compared with births in the first half of that year.

Scanning electron micrograph of a human T lymphocyte (also called a T cell) from the immune system of a healthy donor.

Advances in brain imaging can identify a greater number of stroke patients who can receive therapy later than previously believed, according to a new study. The results of the Endovascular Therapy Following Imaging Evaluation for the Ischemic Stroke (DEFUSE 3) trial, presented at the International Stroke Conference 2018 in Los Angeles, demonstrated that physically removing brain clots up to 16 hours after symptom onset in selected patients led to improved outcomes compared to standard medical therapy.

3D print of hemagglutinin (HA), one of the proteins found on the surface of influenza virus that enables the virus to infect human cells. In this model, blue and purple denote areas where mutations can change the ability of the virus to attach to host cells and cause infection.

The study categorized career outcomes for NIEHS postdocs by sector, type, and job specifics. The authors envision that this approach will help young scientists make career decisions based on data and not anecdotal evidence.

The new year is a time to set new goals, and for many people this means losing weight and improving fitness. Although these goals are best met with a nutritious diet and regular physical activity, many people may turn to dietary supplements for a boost to their routines. To help cut the confusion, the Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS) at the National Institutes of Health has two new resources to help people understand what is known about the effectiveness and safety of many ingredients in dietary supplements promoted for fitness and weight loss.

Advances in brain imaging technology may help identify more patients who are eligible for stroke treatment.

The National Institutes of Health will launch an effort aimed at removing barriers that slow the adoption of genome editing for treating patients. These researchers will collaborate to improve the delivery mechanisms for targeting gene editing tools in patients, develop new and improved genome editors, develop assays for testing the safety and efficacy of the genome editing tools in animal and human cells, and assemble a genome editing toolkit containing the resulting knowledge, methods, and tools to be shared with the scientific community. The program is funded by NIH’s Common Fund.

A U.S.-based center says in a new report the eradication of the painful Guinea worm disease could be in sight.