Norovirus, the leading cause of infectious gastroenteritis (vomiting & diarrhoea), is currently showing increased activity in Australia, France, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Japan, and the UK.
Genetic analysis of the virus has shown that this has been caused by the emergence of a new strain of norovirus.
The new norovirus genotype II.4 variant, named Sydney 2012 after the place where it was first reported, is related to existing strains Apeldoorn 2007 and New Orleans 2009, but is different enough that there may be limited immunity in the population.
Britain’s National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has approved EXOGEN’s ultrasound bone healing system for use in the NHS.
New NICE guidelines recommend using the ultrasound bone healing system for fractures of long bones which have not healed after 9 months.
Researchers at King’s College London found that people who stop smoking are less anxious than those who remain addicted, contradicting the belief that smoking is a stress reliever.
The research did not address anxiety levels in people who want to continue smoking or those who do not smoke, as the study’s primary aim was customizing nicotine replacement therapy based on patients’ genetics.
NHS Choices published a useful analysis of the research.
If you smoke, stop.
Pandas’ innate immune systems produce an antimicrobial peptide that rapidly kills drug-resistant strains of bacteria.
Scientists at China’s Nanjing Agricultural University found the peptide, cathelicidin-AM, by mining the panda genome. The research showed that the synthesized peptide was effective against a wide spectrum of microorganisms. It killed bacteria by directly affecting the bacterial cell wall and membrane, and worked six times faster than existing antibiotic clindamycin.