Peanut Allergy Cure?

An allergy to peanuts is no joke. For some, just smelling peanuts can result in a fatal reaction. Which makes finding a cure all the more important and useful. A team from Cambridge's Addenbrooke's Hospital may have done just that. The team effectively cured four children of their peanut allergy. 

Over the course of six mouths, the team gave the children larger and larger exposures to peanuts to build up their bodies' tolerance to the nut. By the end of the six month period the children could eat five peanuts a day and have no reaction. This is the first food allergy to be mitigated by exposure. 

Even though more testing needs to be done on the method, it does give people with the debilitating allergy hope. People with peanut allergies agonize over food products and often can't eat in certain restaurants because of the allergy. 

If the allergy is curable that means improved quality of life. (It also means airlines might start serving peanuts again. Here's hoping.) 

Originally reported by the BBC. 

Universal Phone Charger on the Way

We've all done it - forgotten to charge our phone then appealed to a friend for theirs, but of course they have a different brand of phone so their charger won't work. This annoying scenario will be a thing of the past. 

The major phone companies - Nokia, Motorola, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, LG, T-Mobile, Orange, 3, AT&T and Vodafone - have agreed to come together and create a universal phone charger that can be used with any handset model. The majority of phones will support the new charger by 2012.  Additionally, the charger will be environmentally friendly and consume 50 percent less stand-by energy compared to today's chargers.  

Let's give props to the major phone companies for thinking about their customers and how they can make our lives easier. It's also impressive that they would make the charger use less energy. Too bad the iPhone isn't included! 

Originally reported by the BBC. 

Toddler Recovers from "Drowning"

The average person can only survive without oxygen for less than six minutes. Oluchi Nwaubani, a two-year-old girl, is not your average person. According to brain scans, the girl went for 18 minutes without oxygen while she lay at the bottom of a London pool. 

Despite going without oxygen for three times the normal period, the girl has made a full recovery. Doctors originally believed Oluchi wouldn't be able to walk again and would have brain damage. There predictions have proven unwarranted, which may be due to the cold water Oluchi was submerged in. Doctors believe the cold temperatures inhibited the potential damage. 

Originally reported by the BBC. 

New Way to Test for Postpartum Depression

Until recently postpartum depression was a mystery. Doctors didn't know which women would be affected. That has changed with the release of a study conducted by researchers at the University of California. They found increased levels of corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) - produced by the placenta - indicates women at risk for developing depression after they give birth. 

The study is a break through when it comes to identifying the disease and preventing its debilitating effects. Now women can be screened so they know if they are at risk for postpartum depression, which is the first step to treating it. 

Originally reported by Reuters. 

You Don't Need That Extra Kidney After All

Donating anything makes people feel good and although donating a kidney falls into the same category, there's always been anxiety about whether it's good for your health. The selfless may sigh in relief - kidney donors have the same risk for disease as non-donors. 

A new study by the University of Minnesota found that kidney donors and non-donors live just as long and have the same rates of contracting disease (including kidney disease). The study reinforces the safety of donating a kidney, which could lead to more donations and transplants. With 78,000 people on the transplant wait list, anything that encourages donations is welcome. Research and doctors hope the study will alleviate some concerns about donating a kidney.  

Originally reported by the Minneapolis Star Tribune. 

Cream Could Make It All Better

Everyone fears them and can get them - sexually transmitted diseases. Yet there's hope for preventing the spread of genital herpes. 

Scientists at the Harvard Medical School have developed a cream that could stop the spread of herpes. The first of its kind, the cream stops the virus from replicating in a new host. It does this by inhibiting the genes the virus needs to replicate. 

Considering half a billion people have herpes worldwide, this is an amazing breakthrough. Even though the disease can be controlled it is often passed between sexual partners, as well as between mother and child. The cream still has to be tested for human use, but the research is promising. 

Originally reported by the BBC.  

2008 - Not So Bad After All

2008 was tumultuous. Headline after headline proclaimed bad news. Yet one journalist, Radley Balko, of Reason Magazine found several reasons why 2008 was a good year despite the economic downturn, natural disasters, political scandals, and high gas prices. Check out his editorial, "The Good News from A Bad Year." The piece is sure to make you feel better about 2008.