Viruses, Infections & Disease, features and articles | Educational Science

Aug 31, 2016

Childhood Cancer Deaths: Brain Cancer Overtakes Leukemia as Top Cause

Leukemia is no longer the No. 1 cause of cancer deaths in children, but brain cancer has taken it's place, according to a new report. All pediatric cancer death rates have been dropping since the mid-1970s, according to the report released today (Sept. 16) from the National Center for Health...

Aug 31, 2016

Donald Trump's Sniffling: What Causes Sniffles When You Don't Have a Cold?

Many watchers of Monday night's presidential debate noted that Donald Trump kept sniffling. The presidential candidate later said that he didn't have a cold, so what else might have caused the sniffling? During the debate, Trump's frequent sniffling was a widely discussed topic on social media, giving rise to the...

Aug 31, 2016

'The Terrorist Inside My Husband's Brain': Robin Williams' Widow Details His Disease

It was only after actor Robin Williams' death in August 2014 that doctors found the true cause of the symptoms that had plagued him for years, according to Williams' widow, Susan Schneider Williams. Writing in an editorial published Sept. 27 in the journal Neurology, Schneider Williams detailed the intense difficulty...

Jul 31, 2016

Deadly Case of 'Bagpipe Lung' Highlights Danger of Fungal Infections

One man's fatal lung infection highlights a rare danger that musicians may face: getting sick from fungi growing within their instruments, according to a recent report of the case. The 61-year-old man developed what his doctors in England described as bagpipe lung, and died just a month after he was...

Jun 30, 2016

Man Paralyzed After Mosquito Bite: How Often Does West Nile Strike the Nerves?

A man in Arizona who recently became infected with the West Nile virus is now paralyzed from the waist down, CBS Los Angeles reported. Infections with the mosquito-borne West Nile virus have been known to lead to neurological problems, including paralysis, though these results are rare. According to the Centers...

Jun 30, 2016

Brain-Eating Amoeba Infections: Causes & Symptoms

A brain-eating amoeba is just as horrific as it sounds: It's a parasite that can enter the brain and lead to deadly inflammation of the brain. There have been several reports of brain-eating amoeba infections. For example, an 18-year-old Ohio woman died after contracting a brain-eating amoeba while white-water rafting...

Jun 30, 2016

Silk Road Gave Infectious Disease a Route, Ancient Poop Shows

Silk, tea and spices weren't the only things that travelers carried on China's legendary Silk Road: Ancient poop shows that infectious diseases were also transported along this network of trade routes, according to a new study. Researchers excavated 2,000-year-old feces from a latrine along the Silk Road in northwestern China,...

Apr 30, 2016

Ancient Plague Victims: Did the Quarantine Help or Hurt?

When plague came to the English village of Eyam 350 years ago, it wasn't rat fleas that infected the majority of people with the deadly bacteria, but rather human-to-human transmission, a new study finds. From 1665 to 1666, the villagers of Eyam heroically quarantined themselves with the hopes of protecting...

Mar 31, 2016

Longer Legs Linked to Cancer Risk

NEW ORLEANS — Colorectal cancer has been linked to a number of risk factors, such as inactivity, smoking and eating a lot of red meat. Now, a new study suggests a slightly more surprising risk factor: long legs. Compared with people who had shorter legs, those with longer legs had...

Feb 29, 2016

Microcephaly Could Affect More Than 2,500 Infants in Brazil

More than 2,500 babies could be diagnosed with microcephaly in Brazil if current trends within the Zika-affected country continue, the World Health Organization (WHO) told reporters today at a news conference in Geneva. To fight Zika, a vaccine against the virus and measures to control mosquitoes will be crucial, WHO...

Feb 29, 2016

Old Vaccine, New Tricks: Revive Early Pertussis Shot, Study Says

Newer isn't always better — some researchers are proposing to bring back an older version of the whooping cough vaccine, because multiple studies show that today's version doesn't protect as well as the earlier kind. In a new study, researchers suggest vaccinating children with one dose of the older whooping...

Jan 31, 2016

Legionnaires' Disease Might Sometimes Spread Between People, One Case Suggests

Legionnaires' disease, a sometimes-deadly respiratory disease thought to be spread only through contaminated water, mist, vapor or soil, also may be transmitted between people, a new report of a single case in Portugal suggests. The evidence from the case shows that person-to-person transmission of [Legionnaires'] was the most plausible explanation...

Jan 31, 2016

Whooping Cough Booster Wears Off in Teens

A booster vaccine aimed at protecting teens against whooping cough may wear off over time, a new study suggests. In the study, researchers looked at about 1,200 cases of whooping cough (also called pertussis) that occurred among a population of about 280,000 teens in California between January 2006 and March...

Jan 31, 2016

What Caused This Man's Bladder to Be Encased in Calcium?

A man in Qatar who had blood in his urine and pain for more than a month when he peed found out that his symptoms were caused by his body's attempt to fight off a parasitic worm infection, a new case report reveals. Blood in the urine can be a...

Dec 31, 2015

Some Antibiotics May Change Gut Bacteria in Kids

Children who take certain antibiotics called macrolides to treat an infection may experience changes in their gut bacteria, a new study suggests. And children given more than two courses of macrolides during the first two years of life may face an increased risk of developing asthma and becoming overweight later...