Fungal infections are common and usually treatable. But they can be deadly in patients with immune systems compromised by diseases such as AIDS or by meds taken to keep them in check when they become too active (causing so-called autoimmune conditions such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis), or to prevent rejection of organ transplants. [More]

A new grenadelike gadget--designed to quickly extinguish flames in small quarters, thereby limiting injury to victims as well as firefighters--is becoming an important part of firemen's arsenals. [More]

Americans paradoxically combine an unquenchable curiosity with an insistance on being left alone

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Cancer cells have multiple ways to avoid apoptosis, programmed cell death the means by which organisms deal with defective cells. One defense is to produce quantities of phosphatic acid, a phospholipid constituent of cellular membranes.

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Patients with acute liver failure (ALF) could be saved by a transplant from a living donor (LDLT), according to a new study in the September issue of Liver Transplantation, a journal by John Wiley & Sons. The recent experience of U.S. patients shows that recipient mortality rates and donor morbidity rates are acceptable.

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You'd think fighting ghosts would be a business with longevity, what with people dying every day and all. And wuddya know: the Ghostbusters are making a comeback, Variety is reporting. [More]

Tropical storm Hanna is fixing to drench the eastern U.S. this weekend, and with an even bigger tempest, Ike, in her wake, this month is shaping up as the stormy September predicted by atmospheric scientists. [More]

Researchers have identified a pair of genes that increase a child's risk of developing inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) before the age of 19--adding to a growing list of 30 known genetic factors for the malady.

Inflammatory bowel disease is a chronic condition that affects an estimated 1.4 million people in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) . Abnormal immune responses lead to inflammation in the digestive tract lining causing several disorders, the most common of which are Crohn's disease (usually affecting the small intestine) and ulcerative colitis (restricted to the colon). [More]

Dear EarthTalk: I’ve heard that increasing eco-awareness around the world has now extended itself to the afterlife, whereby burials can even be “green.” Is that true? -- Mary Lewis, Duxbury, MA