A vaccine that stops cholesterol causing damage to arteries could slash heart disease by two-thirds. The experimental jab, which is being pioneered by scientists at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, works by stopping the body’s own defence system from over-reacting to excess levels of cholesterol in the blood. It is this over-reaction that leads to the lining of blood vessels becoming inflamed to the point where a clot forms, triggering ... Jump to full article >>

New research provides evidence that the average cigarette is crawling with germs, including bacteria that cause respiratory disease. But as one spokesman for a tobacco company pointed out, the authors of the new study aren’t sure what, if any, hazard the germs pose. And exposure to bacteria is nothing new: Microbes surround us every day of our lives. Still, the findings raise plenty of questions, said study lead author Amy R. Sapkota.  ... Jump to full article >>

Cigarettes are “widely contaminated” with bacteria, including some known to cause disease in people, concludes a new international study conducted by a University of Maryland environmental health researcher and microbial ecologists at the Ecole Centrale de Lyon in France. The research team describes the study as the first to show that “cigarettes themselves could be the direct source of exposure to a wide array of potentially p ... Jump to full article >>