A study commissioned by the Organic Consumers Association (OCA) to analyze popular personal care and household products has detected the presence of a known carcinogen in almost half the items inspected. The OCA utilized a third-party laboratory to test dozens of shampoos, soaps, body washes/gels, moisturizers, deodorants, sunscreens, and household cleansers labeled as “organic” or [...]

Euthanasia rates in the Netherlands are on the decline as more terminally ill patients elect to die under continuous deep sedation. According to a study led by researchers at Erasmus University Medical Center in Rotterdam, the use of continuous deep sedation rose from 5.6 percent in all deaths in 2001 to 7.1 percent in 2005 [...]

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 [...]

Two directors of the North East England Stem Cell Institute (NESCI) have written to members of the German Parliament urging them to legalize human embryonic stem cell research in Germany. The German Bundestag has been considering an amendment to the German Stem Cell Act of 2002 which would lift the country’s ban on the use [...]

Some cancer patients in South Korea are relieving their depression by participating in hospital-run therapy programs that teach them how to laugh. Individuals raised in traditional Korean cultures are often taught to maintain a solemn demeanor, especially when they’re outside their own home. Smiling is considered appropriate, but public displays of stronger emotions like laughing [...]

Representatives from five major US cancer care groups have collaborated to create new colorectal cancer screening guidelines designed to detect precancerous adenomas and malignant tumors in patients showing no symptoms. The American Cancer Society, the American College of Gastroenterology, the American Gastroenterological Association, the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy and the American College of Radiology [...]

Cancer patients, oncologists and others involved in the cancer experience often struggle to find the compassion and emotional strength they need to continue battling the difficult disease. An article published by American Medical Association reports more and more medical colleges are trying to raise the level of compassion in healthcare settings by mandating spiritually-based courses [...]

A team of international scientists has developed a new type of x-ray camera which has no lens, yet is powerful enough to capture images of tiny nanoscale features inside biological cells. The innovative device could help researchers gain a greater understanding of cancer by allowing them to view biological processes taking place inside whole human [...]

Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota has won the Innovation of the Year in Patient Care Award from the Minnesota Hospital Association for making chemotherapy, CT scans and other medical procedures less frightening for children. Children’s Hospitals and Clinics have been using nitrous oxide, a mild sedative commonly referred to as laughing gas, to relax [...]

The National Science Foundation (NSF), Google Incorporated (NASDAQ: GOOG), and the IBM Corporation (NYSE: IBM) have formed a partnership to create the Cluster Exploratory (CluE), an innovative tool designed to help the academic community conduct research projects that would otherwise be too expensive to explore. CluE is a new distributed computing resource consisting of approximately [...]