Medicine & Drugs, features and articles | Educational Science

Dec 7, 2022

This year's flu shots are a 'very good match' to circulating strains, health officials say

This year's flu shots appear to be a very good match to the circulating influenza strains, health officials say. However, even though flu season got off to an unusually early start, vaccination rates, especially among adults, are lagging those seen this time last year. I can tell you firsthand: This...

Dec 9, 2022

Céline Dion's muscle spasms caused by rare disorder: What is stiff-person syndrome?

Singer Céline Dion was recently diagnosed with a rare neurological disorder called stiff-person syndrome, which has caused her to experience severe muscle spasms, the iconic performer announced Dec. 8 in an Instagram video. We now know this is what's been causing all of the spasms that I've been having, Dion...

Dec 16, 2022

Dangerous strep infection surging in the UK may be spreading in US

As U.K. health officials grapple with an ongoing surge of invasive strep infections in children, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is investigating whether U.S. children are experiencing a similar uptick in infections. According to the agency's website, CDC is looking into a possible increase in invasive group...

Dec 21, 2022

In a 1st, baby's heart defect successfully treated with injected stem cells

A baby born with a heart defect was the first person on record to receive an injection of stem cells to patch his heart after surgery. The boy, named Finley, is now 2 years old, and his doctors are developing a refined version of his stem cell treatment to mend...

Dec 29, 2022

10 bizarre medical case reports from 2022

Sometimes people develop ailments so mysterious they baffle doctors. These medical cases can make scientists question everything they thought they knew about the human body and the diseases that afflict it. These 10 reports published in 2022 chronicle a variety of odd — and often disconcerting — medical cases so...

Jan 20, 2023

New 'concerning' strain of drug-resistant gonorrhea found in U.S. for 1st time

A strain of gonorrhea that's resistant to multiple classes of antibiotics recently infected two people in Massachusetts, the state's Department of Public Health announced Thursday (Jan. 19). This is the first time that resistance or reduced response to five classes of antibiotics has been identified in gonorrhea in the United...

Jan 25, 2023

Antidepressants could fuel the rise of superbugs, lab dish study suggests

Antidepressants may drive bacteria to develop resistance against antibiotics, despite being a completely different class of drugs, a new study finds. Even after a few days exposure, bacteria develop drug resistance, not only against one but multiple antibiotics, Jianhua Guo, the study's senior author and a professor at the University...

Feb 6, 2023

Fatal 'brain-eating' amoeba successfully treated with repurposed UTI drug

A decades-old drug for urinary tract infections may also work for brain-eating amoeba infections, which kill the vast majority of people who contract them, Science magazine reported. The drug's promise was demonstrated in a recent case report, published in January in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases, which describes a 54-year-old...

Feb 7, 2023

Pfizer is using AI to help revolutionize the development of life-saving medications

The past hundred years have brought astonishing medical advancements. The ability to edit genes, build life-saving machines and create vaccines that help prevent or stop diseases in their tracks were previously unfathomable, but are realities of today. And excitingly, both scientific methods and the pace at which life-saving medical breakthroughs...

Mar 8, 2023

The gender health gap: 10 times medicine failed women

The gender health gap describes the differential treatment women experience when seeking healthcare, compared to men, and the negative impacts this treatment has on women's overall health. This inequity partially stems from the gender research gap, or the historic exclusion of women from medical research. Until 1993, the U.S. Food...

Mar 24, 2023

Tardigrade proteins could help stabilize drugs without refrigeration, scientists say

Tardigrades — those darling, near-microscopic critters that are nearly indestructible — carry proteins that could keep critical drugs and medical treatments stable without refrigeration, scientists say. In a study published Monday (March 20) in the journal Scientific Reports, scientists tested this idea with human blood clotting factor VIII, a protein...

Apr 21, 2023

Scientists invent 'shape-shifting' antibiotic to fight deadly superbugs

The spread of drug-resistant superbugs — including bacteria that have evolved to thwart even the most potent antibiotics — represents an ever-growing threat to public health. Now, scientists have invented a new type of antibiotic that can take down these germs by rapidly rearranging its atoms and thus changing its...

Apr 26, 2023

Don't use 'amniotic fluid' eye drops, FDA warns

People should not use eye drops marketed as if they contain amniotic fluid, the fluid that surrounds and cushions a developing fetus in the womb, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warned. The sale of these eye drops, none of which have been approved by the FDA, raises potential...

Apr 28, 2023

FDA approves 1st pill made from human poop

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the first pill manufactured from donated human poop, the agency announced Wednesday (April 26). It's the second human poop-derived treatment ever approved; the first was an enema-based treatment cleared for use in December 2022. Previously, such fecal microbiota transplants were considered...

May 3, 2023

Smelling salt products promise an 'energy boost,' but have reportedly caused seizures, FDA warns

Several unapproved inhalants being marketed to promote alertness and boost energy contain mostly ammonia, a toxic gas that can sometimes cause severe symptoms when inhaled, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned Monday (May 1). Inhaling ammonia can quickly lead to eye, nose, and throat irritation; coughing; and airway...