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Ultrasound holds promise for surgery-free cancer therapy
Ultrasound has long been used for helping doctors see inside the body, but focused high frequency sound waves are offering new ways of targeting...
Puzzle of man with Alzheimer's gene who escaped disease
For 14 years now, American retiree Doug Whitney has been the one-person focus of exceptionally detailed scientific investigation. It is not because he is...
Scientists detect protein clusters tied to Parkinson’s – Canadian-UK study
Marking a significant first, scientists have, for the first time, directly visualised and quantified the protein clusters believed to trigger Parkinson’s disease, signalling a...
Arthritis pill could delay diabetes progression – Australian trial
A two-year Australian trial has found that a daily pill commonly prescribed for rheumatoid arthritis and alopecia could also slow the progression of type 1 diabetes.
The Independent reports that...
US aid cuts could mean millions of TB deaths – global analysis
Foreign aid cuts by the United States could result in more than 10m additional TB cases and 2.5m more deaths in the next years...
New link flagged between women who have heart attacks – US study
After a 30-year study, American researchers have suggested that inflammation could be a key factor in explaining why some women experience heart attacks and strokes – despite...
Child vapers three times likelier to become smokers – global study
A large global review has suggested links between youth vaping and pneumonia, bronchitis, lower total sperm counts, headaches and migraines, while the researchers also...
Untapped potential of vaginal microbiome – UK review
The microscopic bacteria living in women’s bodies could be a powerful tool for personalised, non-invasive treatment and earlier diagnosis, according to a new review...
North-West biochemist finds Rooibos, broccoli can counter heart damage
Research by an internationally recognised young biochemist from North-West University (NWU) suggests everyday foods like broccoli and rooibos tea could help protect the heart...
Male birth control pill passes first safety test in men
American researchers have announced that an experimental pill for men that works by blocking sperm production has just passed its first safety test in...
Treasury bails out HIV/Aids projects blindsided by Pepfar cuts
While Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi’s recent tabling of the 2025/26 Health Budget vote and the spending priorities showed efforts to plug some funding...
NIH restores grants to SA scientists
The US National Institutes of Health (NIH) has – without explanation – lifted a hold on payments for scores of existing grants to South...
EU funding boosts SA’s pandemic readiness with genomic research
South Africa is cementing its leadership role in global pandemic preparedness through a major expansion of its genomic surveillance partnership with Germany and the...
New research unit at Steve Biko Hospital impresses President
The newly-established Nuclear Medicine Research Infrastructure (NuMeRI) facility at Steve Biko Hospital in Pretoria has impressed President Cyril Ramaphosa, who visited the facility this...
How Trump derailed crucial HIV research
Years of work have gone down the tubes with the Trump administration’s cancelling of its financial aid grants, thwarting the Herculean efforts of leading...
New antibiotic heads for final phase testing
The first new antibiotic in 50 years to tackle a common superbug is expected to be tested on patients soon, Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche...
SA may have long wait for promising new gonorrhoea drugs
Two new antibiotics offer hope for people with gonorrhoea that is resistant to currently available drugs, yet it might be years before these drugs...
NIH grant funds first comprehensive syphilis test
With global syphilis cases on the rise, the news of a $2.7m research grant towards the development of a one-stop diagnostic test has been...
BCG revaccination hopes dim for TB prevention in HIV patients
In a disappointing outcome, the Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) revaccination didn’t help prevent sustained Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection in initially uninfected adolescents without HIV in a South African...
Weight-loss jabs could halve obesity-linked cancer risks – Israeli study
Weight-loss jabs could almost halve the risk of obesity-related cancers, a landmark study has suggested, with experts calling the findings “transformational”, and saying they...
Donors commit emergency funding as 100 researchers lose jobs
The dire consequences of the US withdrawal of funding to South African health programmes continue, with Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi saying that more than...
Prosecutors target leading US medical journals
A federal prosecutor in Washington has contacted the New England Journal of Medicine, considered the world’s most prestigious medical journal, with questions that suggested,...
With twice-yearly PrEP jab, is an HIV vaccine still vital?
The discovery of a highly efficacious option for HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) that requires only twice-yearly administration has led to the question of whether...
UTI drug offers hope as new gonorrhoea treatment – global study
A new type of antibiotic to treat urinary tract infections could also work against gonorrhoea infections, a study has suggested, possibly launching the medication...
Suicide rates rise among over-50 South Africans
An alarming statistic has been noted among South Africans over 50, according to Discovery Life, which says it has recorded a surge in suicides...
SAMRC’s race to rescue health research in SA
Health research in South Africa has been plunged into crisis with the abrupt termination of US grants, with more expected in the coming days...
KZN research challenges TB transmission theories
For centuries, it was believed that tuberculosis spread primarily when a vulnerable person spends hours in a poorly ventilated space with someone infectious. But...
Oxford launches first human aerosol TB vaccine trial
A new clinical trial called TB-45 to test tuberculosis (TB) vaccine safety – the first-in-human aerosol mycobacterial challenge infection model – has been launched.
The...
WHO report urges more R&D for fungal diseases
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has published its first-ever report addressing the critical lack of medicines and diagnostic tools for invasive fungal diseases, showing...
Trump formally ends SA’s HIV and TB research grants
Cancellation letters, ending billions of rands of South African universities’ US Government-funded HIV and TB research grants with immediate effect, started to roll in...
Ovarian cancer screening test less effective for black women, review finds
A common test for ovarian cancer may be less effective on black and Native American patients, a review of more than 200 000 patients...
Hopes pinned on major TB vaccine study launched in Paarl
The world desperately needs an effective TB vaccine to reduce the illness and death still being caused by the centuries’ old bacterium, writes Chris...
Male breast cancer predicted to rise in Africa – large Chinese analysis
Cases of male breast cancer (MBC) are likely to rise over the next quarter century in certain regions – including southern sub-Saharan Africa –...
NSAIDs may lower dementia risk, large study finds
A study examining the relationship between the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAID) medication over certain time frames and the risk for dementia found that...
Trump’s aid cuts halt crucial SA-led HIV vaccine trials
Critical South African-led HIV research, the outcome of which could affect millions of people worldwide, has been stopped in its tracks at a vital...
Medical journal editors should not bow to 'anti-gender ideology’
The news that on 31 January the Trump administration instructed scientists at the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to withdraw or...
Scientists study man who defied predicted genetic Alzheimer’s
People who inherit one very rare gene mutation are virtually guaranteed to develop Alzheimer’s before they turn 50, but an American man has confused...
Genetic link flagged in West Africans’ high kidney disease risk
Kidney disease, leading to kidney failure, afflicts disproportionately more black people than white people, resulting in a huge burden of kidney healthcare costs among...
The dire consequences of silencing the ‘voice of CDC’
Donald Trump’s gagging of the publication of all health-related communication and documents, including the CDC’s critically important Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), poses...
Major study of 100 000 black women to probe cancer risks
When the VOICES of Black Women pilot study launched in 2023, its co-principal investigator Lauren McCullough, PhD, MSPH, was the first participant to sign...