Public Health in the News – October 12, 2014

Posted on October 12, 2014 by NPHR Blog in News // 0 Comments

Global

HIV-positive individuals may end up needing new organs due to health issues, but they are not eligible for organ transplants. Now, a South African doctor is transplanting organs that have been donated from other HIV-positive patients.
The Nobel Prize awards were given out this past week! The Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to three scientists who developed fluorescence microscopy, which has allowed researchers to better visualize cells. The Nobel for Physiology or Medicine was given to neuroscientists who discovered the cells in our brain that help us understand our location.
Mic has a great longread about what the Western media has missed when reporting on Ebola.
Polio is now considered a public health emergency in Pakistan.

National

A new device debuted at the TEDGlobal conference, Miroculus, could detect the warning signs of multiple types of cancers, all from a single blood sample.
In honor of stem cell awareness day last Wednesday, here’s a great new way stem cells can be used: they can be turned into insulin-producing pancreatic cells. This method has been used to cure Type I diabetes in mice!
Did the ice bucket challenge, a viral social media campaign to raise money for ALS research, actually work? Nature Medicine reports that the challenge helped raise $100 millon for the ALS association! If you missed the viral videos, here’s a collection of celebrity ice bucket challenges – everyone from Justin Timberlake to Bill Gates to Lady Gaga participated!
So what’s the deal with artificial sweeteners anyway? Gizmodo explains what they are and why they’ve been in the news so much lately – turns out, there isn’t much evidence that they cause cancer, but they probably increase risk for diabetes and obesity.
A Scientific American guest blogger talks about her experiences at a recent conference for Epidemic Intelligence Service Officers, a.k.a. disease detectives.
Evidence is indicating that MSG – a food additive often associated with Chinese food – may not be so bad for your health after all.
It’s getting into flu season! Here are some flu myths, debunked.

Chicago

The director of the Illinois Department of Public Health says that the suggestion by Chicago Aldermen to screen all international travelers at Chicago’s airports is “overkill.”

Northwestern

The IPHAM Seminar Series has started up again for the new school year! This Thursday, check out a talk on community outreach – join us in Lurie or watch online!
The new director of the Lurie Cancer Center, Leonidas Platanias, MD, PhD, has appointed a new deputy director, Francis Giles, MB, MD.
Dr. Robert Murphy, director of the Center for Global Health, talks to local reporters about Ebola.