When everybody buckles up, front seat may be safer than back
By Lisa Rapaport (Reuters Health) - When everyone in a car buckles up, passengers in front may be safer than riders in the back, and seat belts are at least partly to blame, a small Australian crash analysis suggests. Crumple zones and other structural improvements to the car frame, air bags and seat belts have made the front seat much safer. “However, by ensuring that seat belts fit a passenger correctly, are always used correctly and optimizing seat belt technology, the loads produced by seat belts can be minimized and therefore this residual injury can be prevented,” Brown said by email.

Dynavax to resubmit hep B vaccine for approval after positive data
Dynavax Technologies Corp said its experimental hepatitis B vaccine was found to be safe and effective in a late-stage study, paving the way for the company to resubmit its marketing application. The earlier marketing application for the vaccine, HEPLISAV-B, was rejected in February 2013 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which sought additional safety data. California-based Dynavax said it plans to resubmit the marketing application by the end of March and anticipates a six-month review by the FDA.

The Best Diet Ever: Three Key Ingredients

As weight loss and maintenance is one of my specialties, I am often asked, "What is the best diet?" People are often disappointed by my response. I tell them, "The best diet meets three conditions:It's a healthy diet.It's a diet that includes your favorite foods, in moderation, even if they're not entirely healthy.It's a diet you can stay on...

Medellin: The Right Place and Time for Collaborative Learning in Public Health
by Negeen Darani, Harvard Humanitarian InitiativePhoto by Kevin Dooley. Today marks Day 2 of the Post-Conflict Colombia and Public Health course -- a project of the Open Hands Initiative and Harvard Humanitarian Initiative (HHI), in collaboration with the University of Antioquia School of Medicine. Sixteen students from the Harvard T.H. Chan...

Oral contraceptive use early in pregnancy not tied to defects

By Andrew M. Seaman (Reuters Health) - Women who accidentally keep taking oral contraceptives after becoming pregnant shouldn't worry about birth defects, a new study suggests. An analysis of nearly 900,000 births found no connection between oral contraceptive use right before or during pregnancy and birth defects in babies, researchers report in The BMJ. "For women who do become pregnant either soon after stopping oral contraceptive use or even if they’re still taking the pill, they should know that exposure is unlikely to cause their fetus to develop a birth defect," said lead author Brittany Charlton, of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston.

UniQure shares jump on promising gene therapy data
Dutch biotech UniQure NV said its experimental gene therapy for a blood disorder benefited some patients in an early-stage study, offering a rare ray of hope in gene therapy research plagued by a series of failed trials. Janney Capital Markets analyst Debjit Chattopadhyay said UniQure's data looked better than that of Baxalta Inc's rival drug. Gene therapy research, which aims to insert corrective genes into malfunctioning cells, has been dogged by a series of disappointments and safety concerns.

Canadian cross-border M&A seen gaining momentum in 2016

By John Tilak and Euan Rocha TORONTO (Reuters) - Lawyers expect cross-border deals to again drive Canadian merger and acquisition activity in 2016 after aggressive moves by Canadian firms spurred a major surge in M&A transactions last year. Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt topped the list of law firms that advised on M&A transactions involving Canadian entities in 2015, followed closely by its Canadian rivals McCarthy Tétrault and Torys, according to Thomson Reuters data released on Thursday. U.S. firms Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and Sullivan & Cromwell rounded out the top five slots based on overall deal value, while Stikeman Elliott advised on the highest number of deals.

Proud Women of Africa: the Beginning
Co-authored by Nick Schönfeld.In 2008, my world changed. After a decade working as a spark on commercials and feature films in the Netherlands I'd had enough. Like so many people my age (thirty-something), I found myself stuck in a job I no longer enjoyed. It made me miserable. So I decided I needed a change of scenery. I packed my bags and...

Symptoms, hospitalizations common after gastric bypass
By Andrew M. Seaman (Reuters Health) - The high rate of side effects and hospitalizations after gastric bypass surgery should make development of new weight loss procedures a high priority, say researchers from Denmark. People who had gastric bypass generally said their wellbeing improved after surgery, but about 90 percent reported at least one side effect and one-third were hospitalized, the authors report in JAMA Surgery. Future research should focus on "alternative methods like sleeve gastrectomy and other procedures that would have fewer complications afterward," said lead author Dr. Sigrid Bjerge Gribsholt, of Aarhus University.

Does cancer screening save lives? Unclear, researchers say

By Lisa Rapaport Reuters Health - Bigger studies are needed to tell whether cancer screening really saves lives, according to a new analysis. While cancer screening may be linked to fewer deaths from tumors, finding cancers doesn't necessarily save lives when fatalities from all causes are taken into account, the authors point out. It’s also possible that any reduction in cancer deaths due to screening may be offset by fatalities connected to harmful effects of the tests themselves or of unnecessary treatments.

Cancer now No. 1 killer in 22 states, ahead of heart disease
NEW YORK (AP) — .

U.S. cracks down on Americans' intake of sugar, saturated fat

The U.S. government issued new dietary guidelines Thursday, saying Americans should curb their intake of sugar and saturated fat to less than 10 percent of daily calories, in the latest blow to a sugar industry that has faced heightened criticism by health advocates. The push to encourage Americans to eat less added sugar as they consume more fruit and vegetables marks a shift, as the U.S. government had previously offered more vague recommendations on limiting sugar consumption.

6 Ways To Fight The Flu You Probably Overlooked
If you could avoid the misery of the flu -- the fever, the aches, the knives in your throat -- wouldn't you? Wouldn't anyone? Yet most of us don't take the proper precautions. In fact, nearly 60 percent of American adults fail to get their annual flu shot. If you're one of them, please take care of it now! And don't stop there—consider...

Black pudding hailed as a 'superfood' in Britain

Made out of pig's blood, pork fat and oatmeal, black pudding might seem an unlikely candidate for the shelves of Britain's health food aisles. The crumbly blood sausage, traditionally served with hearty favourites like bacon and fried egg, contains high levels of protein, iron, calcium and zinc. "2015 saw healthy eating reach a new level and this year we predict this trend is only going to get bigger," British media quoted Darren Beale of MuscleFood as saying.

New Dietary Guidelines: Limit Added Sugars but Enjoy That Coffee
Government released updated dietary guidelines for first time in five years.

J&J signs deal with Chinese company for hepatitis B drug
Johnson & Johnson on Thursday said it licensed rights from a Chinese drugmaker to drugs that spur the immune system to help fight diseases, which it hopes will become a key part of a cure for chronic hepatitis B. The deal, with a unit of Sino Biopharmaceutical Ltd that focuses on treatments for liver diseases, gives J&J exclusive rights to develop, manufacture and sell the medicines outside China. Unlike new hepatitis C drugs that boast extremely high cure rates and short treatment durations, current medicines for the hepatitis B virus (HBV) can hold it in check but must be taken for life. Hepatitis B has been difficult to cure because antiviral medicines that block replication of the virus have proved insufficient at clearing it from the blood.

5 Resolutions Family Caregivers Must Make -- And Keep
With the New Year upon us, now is the logical time to set goals for the 365 days ahead. It's that fleeting time of year when gyms are packed to the brim with and burgers are swapped for salads as idealistic folks determined to meet their health and fitness goals dutifully work toward their New Year's resolutions. New Year's resolutions get a...

California governor to propose increased funding for education

By Sharon Bernstein and Robin Respaut SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Reuters) - California Governor Jerry Brown on Thursday is set to propose a budget that increases public spending in areas including education, the latest indication of the most populous U.S. state's rebound from years of economic doldrums. Brown, a Democrat, will release a budget plan at the State Capitol Thursday morning that is expected to top $115 billion in spending from what is known as the general fund, the money appropriated by the legislature and approved by the governor each year. The 77-year-old, who also served as governor from 1975 to 1983, has been notoriously tight-fisted since returning to office in 2011, reining in the state's liberal Democratic majority lawmakers to build a rainy-day fund and hold down expenses after facing down a $27 billion budget deficit.

Kenya's hydropower dams fuel malaria risk for villagers
By Anthony Langat KAMBURU DAM, Kenya (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Alfred Nyaga irrigates his acre of khat, a mild stimulant, in Kaloki village by pumping water with a diesel-powered engine directly from Kamburu Dam in central Kenya. Each morning, he takes the khat he has harvested at night to sell at Kiritiri market, some 30 km (18.64 miles) from the village on a shrub-covered slope stretching to the hydropower dam's banks. Being so close to the reservoir means Nyaga and his four workers are often bitten by mosquitoes as they toil.

No link between contraceptive pill and birth defects: study

Oral contraceptives taken just before or during pregnancy do not increase the risk of birth defects, according to a large-scale study published Wednesday. Examining records for nearly 900,000 live births in Denmark, researchers found that even women who used the pill after becoming pregnant were no more likely to have babies with serious defects than mothers who had never used it. "We confirmed that there wasn't any association between oral contraceptives and major birth defects," lead author Brittany Charlton, a scientist at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, told AFP by phone.

Solving the Health-Religion Puzzle
Religion boosts health in the US. Yet, the most religious countries are the sickest. This paradox can be explained in terms of stress management. Evidently, the health benefits of religion emerge here because religious people are better at managing stress. Why do residents of the most religious countries -- that are also the poorest -- not...

Canadian doctor, pharmacist face probes after sports-doping video
By Nicole Mordant VANCOUVER (Reuters) - A Canadian doctor and pharmacist face inquiries by health authorities over allegations made by a December television documentary that they obtained banned performance-enhancing drugs for athletes, officials said on Wednesday. The two men appeared in a Dec. 27 investigative report by Al Jazeera network that linked well-known players from the National Football League, such as Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning, and Major League Baseball (MLB) with banned substances. The documentary has been controversial and several athletes, including Manning, swiftly denied any wrongdoing.

Chipotle hit with U.S. subpoena over California norovirus outbreak

By Sarah N. Lynch and Tom Polansek WASHINGTON/CHICAGO (Reuters) - Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc , under scrutiny for months over outbreaks of foodborne illness across several U.S. states, said on Wednesday it was served with a subpoena in a federal criminal probe linked to norovirus cases in California last year. Chipotle in a regulatory filing also projected a 14.6 percent plunge in fourth-quarter same-store sales, compared with a previously estimated 8-11 percent drop.

Wage gap could drive women's depression, anxiety, study finds
By Sebastien Malo NEW YORK (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - The U.S. wage gap could be making women ill, says a new study showing women with lower incomes than their male counterparts are more likely to suffer from depression and anxiety. The risk of women who make less money than men developing an anxiety disorder is more than four times higher, said the study by researchers at New York's Columbia University who compared women and men with matching education and work experiences. Women earning less than their male counterparts faced odds of diagnosed depression nearly 2.5 times higher, said the study, published in the journal Social Science & Medicine.

Widely used pesticide can harm bees in some cases -EPA

By P.J. Huffstutter CHICAGO (Reuters) - An insecticide widely used on cotton plants and citrus groves can harm bees that come into contact with those crops under certain conditions, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said on Wednesday. The agency said a preliminary risk assessment of imidacloprid, a neonicotinoid insecticide chemically similar to nicotine, found that chemical residues of more than 25 parts per billion would likely harm bees and their hives and result in the bees producing less honey. The EPA, which collaborated with California's Department of Pesticide Regulation, said data showed imidacloprid residues in pollen and nectar above that threshold level in citrus and cotton crops.