Today’s Solutions: May 17, 2024

Medicine

From advancements in the fight against malaria to new cancer treatments, to novel medical technologies, find all positive news about incredible medical breakthroughs and life-saving technology from all corners of the globe.

Big ashtray with cigarette butts. A smoker shakes off the ash in an ashtray.

Tobacco companies in Spain now fit the bill for cigarette butt clean-up

Tobacco businesses will be obliged to pay for the cleanup of millions of cigarette ends discarded by smokers each year under new environmental legislation in Spain. The decision, which went into effect last week, is part of a package of waste-reduction and recycling efforts. It calls for the Read More...

Doctor delivering good news to happy elderly patient

Rectal cancer trial sees tumor disappear in all patients

A drug study involving people with rectal cancer has remarkably eradicated the tumor in all 18 patients. Though small, the trial astounded practitioners in the field, touting the results as an unprecedented achievement in cancer treatment, reports The New York Times. Cancer disappeared in all Read More...

illustration of brain giving off signals

Brain implant allows completely “locked-in” patient to communicate

Thanks to the efforts of Dr. Niels Birbaumer, a former neuroscientist at the University of Tübingen in Germany, and Dr. Ujwal Chaundhary, a former biomedical engineer at the same university and the current managing director at ALS Voice gGmbH, a German-based neurobiotechnology company, a totally Read More...

Hearing therapy

New regenerative therapy reverses hearing loss

We don’t really appreciate how important hearing is until it starts diminishing. Those with hearing loss and their loved ones might realize then that this is an essential part of most people's communication and connection. Biotech company Frequency Therapeutics has found a way to reconnect those Read More...

child wearing red shorts scratches at mosquito bites

New study identifies mosquitoes' favorite colors to feast on

While many of us look forward to the warmth spring brings each year, there’s another aspect of the hotter seasons that is not so exciting—pesky mosquitoes! This is especially true for those individuals out there whom mosquitoes find the tastiest (you know who you are) and always end up with Read More...

Artificially colored MRI ccan Of human brain.

Just one brain scan can now diagnose Alzheimer’s

Many advances have been made in diagnosing, understanding, preventing, and treating Alzheimer’s disease over the past 100 years. Some of these include a nasal spray that could help prevent the disease and the discovery that our gut diversity plays a role in the risk of the condition. Doctors Read More...

man breaking cigarette with hands walking at the city.

New Zealand passes law that will lead to “a smoke-free future”

New Zealand’s parliament enacted legislation last week that prohibits anyone born after 2008 from purchasing cigarettes or tobacco products. It will mean that the number of people who can buy cigarettes will decrease year after year. For example, by 2050, 40-year-olds will be too young to Read More...

Middle age sportswoman health care holding heart at the park

Discovery of immune protein points to new heart disease treatment

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, and yet treatments remain remarkably limited. Aside from statins to lower cholesterol levels, most interventions are indirect, such as preventing diabetes and high blood pressure or improving diet and exercise. A new study led by Read More...

Myeloma multiplex leukemia cancer 3d color render illustration

Novel blood cancer treatment effective in three-fourths of trial patients

According to new findings from an ongoing Phase 1/2 clinical research trial, a novel investigational immunotherapy resulted in successful response rates for 73 percent of patients with multiple myeloma, a lethal form of blood cancer. Based on these encouraging findings, an application to the US Read More...

View in microscopic of ductal cell carcinoma, adenonocarcinoma from human breast cancer.

Tiny “endo-microscope” helps surgeons discover cancer cells quickly

In order to treat breast cancer more quickly, researchers have developed a little microscope that can be maneuvered into tight places inside the body during surgery. The endo-microscope Imperial College London researchers have created an endo-microscope that is less than 1mm in diameter - around Read More...