Month: March 2013

By Jonathan Stempel (Reuters) – The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday limited the ability of police to use a trained dog to sniff around the outside of a home for illegal drugs that might be inside. By a 5-4 vote, the court said the use by law enforcement authorities of trained police dogs to investigate a home and its immediate surroundings was a "search" within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, and required a warrant. …

By Vrinda Manocha (Reuters) – Ziopharm Oncology Inc said it will stop developing its drug to treat soft tissue sarcoma after it failed to improve patient survival by keeping the cancer from worsening, wiping out nearly two-thirds of the company’s market value. The drug, palifosfamide, was being tested in a late-stage trial called Picasso 3 as a treatment for metastatic soft tissue sarcoma – a type of cancer of the bone, cartilage, fat or muscles. …

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) – Danish authorities said on Tuesday they discovered traces of pork in some meat sold as beef for kebabs during an inspection triggered by the recent horsemeat scandal, prompting demands by the country’s Muslim community for stricter inspection. A spokesman for the Danish veterinary and food administration said pork traces were found in beef sold by supplier Anadolu Kod. “They told us meat was from some of their counterparts in Poland,” said Erik Jepsen, a spokesman for the Danish veterinary and food administration. …

By Andrew M. Seaman New York (Reuters Health) – Women with lung cancer who ate the most soy before their diagnosis might live a little longer than those who ate the least, according to a new study. Of 444 Chinese women with lung cancer, researchers found those who consumed the most soy milk, tofu and similar products were 7 to 8 percent less likely to die over a 13-year period, compared to women who ate an average amount of soy. “To our knowledge this is the first study to suggest this association. …

By Jean Rovys Dabany LIBREVILLE (Reuters) – A rising number of mutilated bodies washing up on Gabon’s beaches this year has sown fear in the normally sleepy capital Libreville of a resurgence in ritual killings. The body parts of humans and animals are prized by some in central Africa for their supposed supernatural powers, including among some politicians bent on gaining influence. “We have seen 20 killings since the start of the year,” said Jean-Elvis Ebang Ondo, the president of Gabon’s Association for the Prevention of Ritual Crimes, in Libreville. …

Efforts to Resuscitate Extinct Species May Spawn a New Era of the Hybrid

Children born from in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments have shown a higher risk of developmental problems, but what is responsible for the heightened risk?

Mandated shorter on-duty shifts for resident physicians has not improved patient care nor has it noticeably reduced the numbers of sleepy house staff, according to a pair of studies.