Scientists have developed a new therapy to combat deadly bacteria that is infecting hospital patients worldwide. The new therapy—a biocide that is able to target antibiotic-defiant bacteria such as Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)—was developed by scientists at the University of Waterloo and University of Manitoba. “We wanted to be able to help vulnerable patients suffering from chronic infections,” said Emmanuel Ho, a professor in the School of Pharmacy at the University of Waterloo. “Once they’re infected with a resistant strain of bacteria it’s very difficult to get them well again.”

Diagnosis of Zika infection is complex. Molecular tests for exposure are only reliable in the first two to three weeks after infection while the virus is circulating in the bloodstream. Antibody tests are confounded by cross-reactivity of antibodies to Zika with dengue, yellow fever, and Japanese encephalitis viruses following infection or vaccination. A new blood test called ZIKV-NS2B-concat ELISA is faster, less expensive, and extends the window of accurate detection from weeks to months after the onset of infection, giving clinicians a powerful new tool to screen for Zika throughout pregnancy.

Magnetism and light have been combined in a test that can diagnose malaria in under two minutes without the need to take blood.

Move aside blueberries, cranberries and strawberries, there’s a new contender for the title of healthiest berry for us to eat. And you won’t find it in the grocery store.

It would be overkill to say that the carrot you eat today has very little nutrition in it—especially compared to some of the other less healthy foods you likely also eat—but it is true that fruits and vegetables grown decades ago were much richer in vitamins and minerals than the varieties most of us get today. The main culprit in this disturbing nutritional trend is soil depletion: Modern intensive agricultural methods have stripped increasing amounts of nutrients from the soil in which the food we eat grows. Sadly, each successive generation of fast-growing, pest-resistant carrot is truly less good for you than the one before.

Imagine losing a limb. Now imagine that on top of that loss, you feel pain, not just at the site of amputation, but in the missing limb itself as your brain tries to make sense of scattered signals.

Large day-to-day swings in temperature were associated with significantly more heart attacks in a study being presented at the American College of Cardiology’s 67th Annual Scientific Session. Given that some climate models link extreme weather events with global warming, the new findings suggest climate change could, in turn, lead to an uptick in the occurrence of heart attacks, researchers said.

More and more people are surviving cancer. Yet support for people who survive cancer and the research that underpins their care is insufficient, particularly when it comes to non-medical issues. A new special issue of the Journal of Cancer Policy, which will be published in March following the 3rd EORTC Cancer Survivorship Summit to be held in Brussels on March 1st and 2nd, shines a light on the issues and calls for more long-term research, better cross-analysis of different cancer types and better support for those who survive the disease.

A University of Calgary study of seasonal air pollution will be of cold comfort to thousands of Calgarians living south of the Bow River: that crisp, wintry air they’re breathing in is the worst in the city.

People who swim, bathe or take part in water sports in the sea are substantially more likely to experience stomach bugs, ear aches and other types of illness than those who do not.