Gut enzymes convert donor blood to much-needed universal type O

TORONTO — Canadian researchers believe they have found the means to convert any type of blood into universally usable group O with enzymes found in the human gut — a finding that could expand the pool of potential blood donors and make blood-matching easier and safer. For transfusions to be safe, blood from a donor —...

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Dutch medical trial using Viagra stopped after 11 babies die

A Dutch trial with the drug best known under the brand name Viagra, has been immediately halted after 11 babies of mothers using the medication died, one of the participating hospitals said on Tuesday. When the trial was stopped on Monday, roughly half of 183 pregnant women participating were taking sildenafil, the Amsterdam University's Academic Medical Centre (AMC)...

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Boys should be given HPV jab, says vaccine committee. Here’s what happens next.

It’s nearly a decade since the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine was first introduced in the UK to help protect against the virus that causes most cases of cervical cancer. But until now, it has only been routinely offered to girls.Today, the Joint Committee for Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) recommended that adolescent boys should now also receive the vaccine.When...

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‘Magic’ blood test could make bone marrow transplants for blood cancer safer

A blood test could help predict the risk of complication following a bone marrow transplant in some blood cancer patients, according to a new US study. The test could help identify which patients given a transplant are likely to develop a potentially fatal complication, the researchers report in The Journal of Clinical Investigation Insight (link is external) . "The...

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Smoking vaccine fails clinical trials, $4.1 million in taxpayer dollars down the drain

An experimental new anti-smoking vaccine has failed miserably in clinical trials, faring no better than a placebo shot at helping people to quit smoking.Produced in partnership with drug giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Nabi Biopharmaceuticals’ NicVAX was intended to help people quit smoking by triggering the production of antibodies that would attach to nicotine and prevent...

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Researchers discover exciting new line of stem cells by accident

The already exciting prospect of stem cell research has just got a little more exciting, with the discovery of a new line of “more robust and easily manipulated” embryonic stem cells, completely by accident.A team of researchers from the University of Missouri came across the new cell type during studies into the causes of pre-eclampsia, a rare and complex condition which...

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