Month: February 2014

Scientists from Belgium have found that ordinary conditioner is just as effective as special conditioners and treatments for removing lice. Those who have dealt with lice eggs, or nits, know they are incredibly challenging to remove. Following a few experiments, scientists found "no significant difference" between regular conditioner and special lice-removal products in ridding hair of the sticky eggs. However, they did find eggs easier to remove when hair was soaked in deionized water.

By Kathryn Doyle NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – A small experiment to see whether uninfected ticks could “diagnose” a lingering Lyme infection in people produced modest results, researchers say. DNA from the Lyme parasite, but not live parasites themselves, were transmitted to the ticks from just two people out of two dozen who had persistent Lyme symptoms despite treatment. In animal studies, researchers have successfully used “xenodiagnosis,” or diagnosis with another animal, to detect the signs of a persistent Lyme infection in the blood. The technique has also worked in people to detect another parasitic infection, Chagas disease.

LONDON (AP) — Nearly two months after Michael Schumacher suffered serious head injuries in a skiing accident and was placed in a drug-induced coma, some neurologists say the seven-time Formula One champion seems unlikely to make a full recovery.

By Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK (Reuters) – Former SAC Capital Advisors LP portfolio manager Mathew Martoma asked a U.S. judge to throw out his insider trading conviction, saying federal prosecutors did not prove he committed a crime and that improper evidence and jury bias tainted the verdict. The request submitted late Thursday night in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan was expected. It followed Martoma's February 6 conviction on two counts of securities fraud and one count of conspiracy. "This court should enter a judgment of acquittal on all counts," Martoma, 39, told U.S. District Judge Paul Gardephe, who presided over the roughly month-long trial, in the filing.

Dr. Daniel Mason, who lectured and practiced for 50 years at Philadelphia’s Hahnemann Hospital, had produced a three-CD set of digitized heart sounds and murmurs, some extremely rare, to allow medical students to learn the nuances of detecting heart disease. His grandson, Andrew Josephson, used those recordings to create an app, “Listening to the Heart,” which identifies heart abnormalities.

By Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama on Friday will lay out his approach to electing fellow Democrats in congressional campaigns this year as his party tries to overcome stiff headwinds brought about at least in part due to his signature healthcare law. The president will address the winter meeting of the Democratic National Committee in Washington with the aim of maintaining a spirit of unity among party activists. Democrats are trying to face down emboldened Republicans who see a chance of capturing the Senate and building on their majority in the House of Representatives. Obama will make the case that there are still items on his agenda that he would like to see approved in an election year.

Every morning at 3 a.m. Lora Pournazarian is awake to feed her 8-year-old son Jonah a mixture of corn starch and water through a tube in his stomach. If she doesn’t, Jonah could die because he has a rare form of glycogen storage disease, a…