ScienceDaily: Top Health News

Around 180,000 avoidable deaths over 14 years in fast-growing tropical cities were caused by a rapid rise in emerging air pollution, a study has revealed.

Researchers have uncovered how Gram-negative bacteria -- which cause a variety of drug-resistant infections -- build their protective outer layer, which could lead to more effective treatments.

Intestinal epithelial cells line the inner wall of the gut, creating a barrier to dangerous bacteria like enteropathogenic E. coli that seek to attach and efface that barrier, causing diarrhea. Such pathogens pose significant risks to human health and cause infant death in developing countries. A new study shows how two types of immune cells -- one a part of the innate immune system and the other a part of the adaptive immune system -- play distinct and indispensable roles to defend that barrier.

Researchers have used CRISPR gene editing -- a type of 'molecular scissors' -- to understand how deletions in one area of the genome can affect the expression of nearby genes. The work will help researchers investigate new therapeutic approaches for one of the world's most devastating genetic blood disorders -- sickle cell disease. Asymptomatic sickle cell disease patients actually lack a tiny part of the genome, scientists have shown.

Accurate home testing could be used for a wider range of illnesses, as new research shows the capability of smartphone-powered tests for Dengue Fever.