Airborne: No need for coughing or sneezing, flu may spread just by breathing

We may pass the flu to others just by breathing, according to a study which contradicts the popular belief that people can catch the influenza virus by exposure to droplets from an infected person’s coughs or sneezes. The study provides new evidence for the potential importance of airborne transmission because of the large quantities of infectious virus researchers found in the exhaled breath from people suffering from flu. “We found that flu cases contaminated the air around them with infectious virus just by breathing, without coughing or sneezing,” said Donald…

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Certain high BP drugs cut spread of cancer in body

A team of researchers has found that drugs used to treat high blood pressure can block the spread of cancer. The findings were published in journal of Nature Communications. Calcium channel blockers are currently used to treat hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, but their potential use in blocking cancer cell metastases has not been previously reported. By screening already approved drugs, the team led by Postdoctoral Researcher Guillaume Jacquemet and Academy Professor Johanna Ivaska from University of Turku in Finland discovered that calcium channel blockers can efficiently stop…

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Prostate cancer spread can be predicted through tumour cells in blood samples

Prostate cancer spread can be predicted through tumour cells in blood samples (Shutterstock Images) A new study says that researchers have found a group of circulating tumour cells in prostate cancer patient blood samples which are linked to the spread of the disease. This is the first time these cell types have been shown to be a promising marker for prostate cancer spread. In a study, presented at the National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) Cancer Conference in Liverpool, of around 80 samples from men with prostate cancer, scientists at the…

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Soda Taxes May Spread if Voters Check Ballots in California, Colorado

As Americans vote for a new president on Tuesday, hundreds of thousands of voters in California’s Bay Area and Boulder, Colorado, will also decide whether they want levies on sugary drinks, another step toward making soda taxes a norm. Three cities in California – San Francisco, Berkeley and Albany – and Boulder, Colorado, have become the latest battleground in a so-called “War on Sugar” that centers on sweetened drinks. Over 800,00 voters will decide on ballot measures to introduce taxes of 1 or 2 cents per ounce on soft drinks…

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New Gene Therapy May Check Spread of Breast Cancer

Researchers are in the process of developing a new gene therapy technique that could be used alongside chemotherapy to treat early-stage breast cancer tumours before they spread. The new technique uses microRNAs — small noncoding RNA molecules that regulate gene expression — to control metastasis or the spread of the disease, which is the leading cause of mortality in women with breast cancer. “If cancer is diagnosed early enough, then in addition to treating the primary tumour (with chemotherapy), one could also treat with specific microRNAs, in order to prevent…

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Warmer climate may cut dengue spread, says study

Warmer climate may cut dengue spread, says study (Getty Images) A new study has revealed that the transmission of dengue is likely to decrease in a warmer climate, countering previous projections that climate change would cause the potentially lethal virus to spread more easily. Dengue is the world’s most prevalent mosquito-borne disease, with more than 200 million people each year becoming infected. The results of the study indicated that dengue epidemic potential may come down in conditions of climate warming as mosquito breeding sites become drier and mosquito survival declines.…

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