Scientists Find Way to Remove Lead from Blood
from Reuters
South Korean scientists may have found a way to remove dangerous heavy metals such as lead from blood by using specially designed magnetic receptors. The receptors bind strongly to lead ions and can be easily removed, along with their lead cargo, using magnets, they wrote in an article in Angewandte Chemie International Edition. More

New Family of Antibacterial Agents Uncovered
from Infection Control Today
As bacteria resistant to commonly used antibiotics continue to increase in number, scientists keep searching for new sources of drugs. Hydramacin, for instance, has proven to be extremely effective; in a series of laboratory experiments, this protein could kill a wide range of both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, including clinically-isolated drug-resistant strains like Klebsiella oxytoca. More

DNA Can Reveal Ancestors' Lies and Secrets
from The Los Angeles Times
In a search for their ancestors, more than 140 people with variations of the last name Kincaid have taken DNA tests and shared their results on the Internet. They have found war heroes, sailors and survivors of the Irish potato famine. They have also stumbled upon bastards, liars and two-timers. More

'Billy's Disease' Baffles Doctors
from CNN
Billy Anderson was in fine health until one evening last winter. He woke up in pain and his wife rushed him to the emergency room. Over the next few days, he suffered a number of ailments, from a running fever and hives to swelling joints. One year and a battery of tests later, doctors still haven't pinpointed the cause of his condition. More

FDA: 'Postpone' Eating Foods Containing Peanut Butter
from USA Today
The Food and Drug Administration says Americans should "postpone" eating cookies, crackers, candy and ice cream that contain peanut butter or peanut paste while the agency works to establish which products are tainted with the strain of salmonella typhimurium which has sickened 474 people nationwide and is implicated in six deaths. More

Progress Made in Understanding Causes and Treatment of Endometriosis
from Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News
Endometriosis is a poorly understood chronic disease characterized by infertility and chronic pelvic pain during intercourse. Serdar Bulun, professor of Clinical Gynecology at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine, has spent the past 15 years investigating and identifying the causes of this disease. Bulun, and colleagues in his lab, discovered key epigenetic abnormalities in endometriosis and identified existing chemicals that now help treat it. More

Scientists Discover Gene Responsible For Brain's Aging
from Science Daily
Will scientists one day be able to slow the aging of the brain and prevent diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's? Perhaps − at least once the genetic coding associated with neuronal degeneration has been unraveled. More

Cholera Kills 2,225 in Zimbabwe, Infects 42,600
from The Associated Press
The death toll from a cholera epidemic in Zimbabwe rose to 2,225 Friday, and the head of the U.N. children's agency toured a hospital where weakened victims of the waterborne disease were receiving international help. Zimbabwe's economic collapse has destroyed its infrastructure, and the country has not been able to ensure clean water or prompt medical help for its citizens. More