Years ago, after a period of struggling with infertility and failed attempts to get pregnant, my husband and I began exploring the option of adopting a child. We eventually decided to not pursue adoption, but for many couples unable to have a child, adoption is an excellent alternative. There are tens of thousands of children … Read more
I spent Independence Day in the Shenandoah Valley. Anytime I’m there this time of year I start thinking about how when I was a kid my grandparents would take my brother and me to the orchards to pick fresh fruit. Apples, peaches, grapes, nectarines – it seems we picked everything short of tropical fruit. I recently … Read more
A gene implicated in Carney complex, a rare disorder of the adrenal glands, appears to function as a molecular switch to limit cell growth and division, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and other institutions.
Home, it’s more than brick-and-mortar, wood, or even blocks of ice shaped in a dome! Home is your place, your retreat from the world, your sanctuary for the soul. For me, home is all of those things and toilets to clean, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. Everyone should have an opportunity to … Read more
Nine health research centers have received funds to develop ways to reduce the time it takes for clinical research to become treatments for patients. The funds were awarded as part of the Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) program which is led by the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR), part of the National Institutes … Read more
Investigators have made a major advance in treating people with a severe form of vasculitis, anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis, a rare but devastating disease of blood vessels. In a six-month study, a new treatment strategy provided the same benefits as the current standard of care used for more than 40 years but required less … Read more
National Institutes of Health researchers and grantees have found that gene variants in APOL1, more common in African Americans, come with both health risk and reward, as reported in the July 15 online issue of Science.
In an effort to accelerate the control of malaria and help eliminate it worldwide, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, today announced approximately $14 million in first-year funding to establish 10 new malaria research centers around the world.
Preterm births and adolescent births declined, eighth graders’ math and reading scores increased, and more children had health insurance, according to the federal government’ annual statistical report on the well-being of the nation’s children and youth. The report also showed several economic changes that coincided with the beginning of the economic downturn: increases in child … Read more
A universal influenza vaccine — so-called because it could potentially provide protection from all flu strains for decades — may become a reality because of research led by scientists from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health.
As the resident male blogger here at Gov Gab, it’s my job to tell you that June is National Men’s Health Month and that today through Sunday is National Men’s Health Week. Signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1994, National Men’s Health Week always occurs the week before Father’s Day. The purpose of … Read more
Whether you live near the Gulf of Mexico or not, there are ways that you can help the region and its wildlife recover from the oil spill. If you want to help the animals affected by the spill, remember that cleaning oiled wildlife is complex and can be dangerous. It requires training, so don’t try … Read more
I’ve really been into grilling this year. I like it because of how food cooked on the grill tastes, because I can make a meal without heating up the house or producing a mountain of dirty dishes, and most of all I like to sit down and relax in the cool evening air while I … Read more
A few weeks ago, I went on a trip with a some friends. We had a blast, but I couldn’t help but notice that one of the members of my crew took 1,000 pictures over the course of our vaycay. Not. Even. Kidding. Literally – over 1,000 pictures. At first this was amusing. By the end, … Read more
An experimental vaccine developed to prevent outbreaks of Marburg hemorrhagic fever continues to show promise in monkeys as an emergency treatment for accidental exposures to the virus that causes the disease. There is no licensed treatment for Marburg infection, which has a high fatality rate.
A program in which individuals used a standardized form signed by a physician to communicate their end-of-life care preferences on issues such as levels of medical intervention and tube feeding lead to significantly better adherence to treatment preferences than more traditional methods of communication, according to a new study.
I love watching summer thunderstorms — the wind and the rain and the lightening streaking across the sky. It’s fun to watch them when I’m inside feeling safe, it’s not so fun watching summer storms when I’m caught off guard and out in my car trying to drive through the storms. The United States experiences … Read more