Doctors are still widely prescribing codeine for kids with coughs, colds and injuries, despite robust evidence that the ancient narcotic doesn’t work for many children — and may be fatal to some. Alan D. Woolf, professor of pediatrics at Boston Children’s Hospital, wrote an editorial accompanying the new research.
Researchers have taught three rhesus monkeys to do simple addition using the numbers 1 through 25. The feat represents the best evidence yet for primates’ mathematical abilities. Margaret Livingstone, professor of neurobiology, led the study.
Massachusetts-based Sarepta Therapeutics disclosed that although the FDA reiterated its skepticism regarding data surrounding a drug to slow the progression of Duchenne muscular dystrophy, the agency has detailed a potential path forward for the drug and indicated a willingness to consider it for accelerated approval. Louis Kunkel, professor of pediatrics at Boston Children’s Hospital, is quoted.
A trip to almost any bookstore or a cruise around the Internet might leave the impression that avoiding cancer is mostly a matter of watching what you eat. One source after another promotes the protective powers of “superfoods,” rich in antioxidants and other phytochemicals, or advises readers to emulate the diets of Chinese peasants or Paleolithic cave dwellers. Research by Walter C. Willett, chair of the Department of Nutrition at Harvard School of Public Health and professor of medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, is cited.
Weight loss is often framed as a personal endeavor, but the best outcomes stem from group efforts. Emphasizing the importance of community to curtail the prevalence of obesity is the goal of Walter Willett, chair of the Department of Nutrition at Harvard School of Public Health, and Malissa Wood, assistant professor of medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, the co-authors of Thinfluence: the powerful and surprising effect friends, family, work, and environment have on weight.
Scientists have moved a step closer to the goal of creating stem cells perfectly matched to a patient’s DNA in order to treat diseases, they announced on Thursday, creating patient-specific cell lines out of the skin cells of two adult men. George Daley, professor of biological chemistry and molecular pharmacology at Boston Children’s Hospital, is quoted.
The world’s largest organization of cancer doctors plans to rate the cost effectiveness of expensive oncology drugs, and will urge physicians to use the ratings to discuss the costs with their patients. Lowell Schnipper, the Theodore W. and Evelyn G. Berenson Professor of Medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, is the task force chairman.
A new algorithm can track flu cases across the US by mining data from Wikipedia. John Brownstein, associate professor of pediatrics at Boston Children’s Hospital, is a coauthor of the study.
