90,000 patients wait for organ transplants, but some organs are lost because they aren’t harvested in time. NYC officials propose a controversial solution.

Canadian officials begin a new smoking ban in federal prisons. Some think it’s the perfect chance to quit — others worry withdrawal will lead to violence.

Experts face the grim task of deciding who will get treatment during a pandemic or other health disaster — many with chronic illnesses will be left out.

The US Department of Health and Human Services’ Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and the Ad Council have launched a national ad campaign encouraging men over 40 to take an active role in their own health care. The Real Men Wear Gowns campaign, which was created pro bono by McCann Erickson Detroit, includes [...]

The US Food and Drug Administration has announced the recall of two herbal supplements because they contain high levels of aristolochic acid, a potent carcinogen and nephrotoxin found in certain plants and botanicals. Aristolochic acid has been linked with kidney cancer and kidney failure. Both of the carcinogen-containing products, Tou Tong San (Headache Formula) and [...]

Scientists at the US Department of Energy (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) have developed an environmentally friendly technique for determining which types of radiation exposure cause the most damage to human DNA – damage that can ultimately lead to cancer. BNL scientists Betsy Sutherland and Brigitte Paap, who’s now at Arizona State University, devised a [...]

An alternative health company is asking citizens of the United Kingdom to support legislation which would include herbal supplements and other natural treatments in clinical trials comparing the effectiveness of investigational drugs against a placebo. Sweet Cures of York, a marketer of herbal products and natural remedies, has launched a campaign to gain public support [...]

Court officials in Canada have begun hearing testimony from cancer patients who received inaccurate hormone receptor test results. The public inquiry was launched after it was discovered that hundreds of cancer patients treated by Eastern Health between 1997 and 2005 were given incorrect results for hormone receptor tests. Oncologists use these tests to diagnose the [...]

The Advanced Photon Source (APS) at the US Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory is helping researchers gain a better understanding of enzymes that help regulate growth or, when not working properly, contribute to cancer development. A team of scientists led by Illinois Institute of Technology biologist Joseph Orgel used high energy x-rays from the [...]

The International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) is establishing new guidelines for medical treatments involving human stem cells. The group is taking the action in response to the increasing number of overseas clinics offering unproven stem cell therapies to patients with cancer, diabetes and other serious health conditions. More than two dozen stem cell [...]