Miami, United States | AFP | A precision cancer treatment that targets rare genetic mutations that exist in about 5,000 people in the United States instead of the tumor’s location in the body has shown success in three-quarters of patients, researchers said Wednesday. The medicine, called larotrectinib, is made by …
Read More »Sea level rise is accelerating: study
Miami, United States | AFP | Sea level rise is accelerating and could reach 26 inches (66 centimeters) by century’s end, in line with United Nations estimates and enough to cause significant problems for coastal cities, a study said Monday. The past annual rate of sea level rise — about three …
Read More »Ocean plastics raise risk of coral reef disease
Miami, United States | AFP | When coral reefs come in contact with plastic trash in the ocean, their risk of becoming diseased skyrockets, said an international study out Thursday. Researchers examined more than 120,000 corals on 159 reefs — some polluted with plastic, others not — from Indonesia, Australia, Myanmar …
Read More »Breastfeeding for 6 months cuts diabetes risk in half: study
Miami, United States | AFP | Women who breastfeed their babies for six months or more may be able to cut their risk of developing diabetes in the future by nearly half, according to a study Tuesday. The findings from a three-decade US study of more than 1,200 white and African-American …
Read More »Global warming will expose millions more to floods
Miami, United States | AFP | Global warming is expected to unleash more rain, exposing millions more people to river flooding particularly in the United States and parts of Asia, Africa and central Europe, researchers said Wednesday. The study in the journal Science Advances calculates how much more flood protection will …
Read More »Boy or girl? It’s in the father’s genes
HEALTH | AGENCIES | A study of hundreds of years of family trees suggests a man’s genes play a role in him having sons or daughters. Men inherit a tendency to have more sons or more daughters from their parents. This means that a man with many brothers is …
Read More »Mouse study shows how alcohol may cause cancer
Paris, France | AFP | Alcohol damages the DNA of stem cells responsible for producing new blood, according to a mouse study which may explain the link between drinking and cancer, scientists said on Wednesday. Health watchdogs have long warned that alcohol consumption contributes to seven types of cancer …
Read More »Smartphone addiction
Study shows danger of imbalance it creates in your brain Kampala, Uganda | AGENCIES | Researchers have found an imbalance in the brain chemistry of young people addicted to smartphones and the internet, according to a study presented on November 30 at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North …
Read More »COMMENT: Research for policy makers
Six barriers that make it difficult for African states to use research for policy COMMENT | WILLEM FOURIE | African policymakers need access to high quality evidence to implement the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) successfully. The SDGs are arguably the most broad-ranging development goals to be ratified by United Nations member …
Read More »How parents behave is linked to suicide risk: research
Miami, United States | AFP | Adolescents who feel their parents rarely express interest in their emotional well-being are far more likely to consider suicide than youths who see their parents as involved, US researchers said Tuesday. The findings by the University of Cincinnati come as the suicide rate among teenagers …
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