The Food and Drug Administration has approved the first-ever gene therapy to treat cancer in the US. The treatment offers a totally new approach to fighting the disease and could lead to novel treatments of other serious and life-threatening maladies. On Wednesday, the FDA approved a new leukemia treatment from the Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis, which the agency said is “the first gene therapy... 

In the wake of the announcement that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved large-scale trials of ecstasy to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) comes the news that several universities have already been experimenting with using mushrooms to help relieve the symptoms of major depression and anxiety. If approved as a treatment, going back to the basics of using psychedelic drugs... 

59 % of e-cigarette smokers are less likely to give up smoking, 49 % are less likely to reduce usage of cigarettes. These are the results of a new study conducted by University of California, San Diego School of Medicine. Thus, the previous major research on the success based on e-cigarettes devices is refuted. Wael Al-Delaimy, MD, PhD, professor and chief of the Division of Global Public Health in... 

A “near-natural” prosthetic arm, that took eight years to develop and test, has been approved for mass production by the US Food and Drug Administration. The DEKA Arm System has been affectionately dubbed “The Luke,” after Star Wars’ Luke Skywalker who received a robotic replacement for the hand he lost in a fight with Darth Vader in the 1980 film “The Empire Strikes Back.” One of the... 

Complaints of injury associated with electronic cigarettes have witnessed a notable spike in the United States over the past year. As many as 50 instances of public grievance, which included burns, nicotine toxicity, and respiratory and cardiovascular problems, were addressed to the US Food and Drug Administration between March 2013 and March 2014. The number of such instances equals the number of... 

A new battlefield lifesaver in the form of a syringe can seal a gunshot wound in just seconds. Supporters hope the ‘XStat’ will replace gauze, which army medics have used to treat life threatening war injuries for centuries. The device was designed by US company RevMedx, which claims the apparatus can stop a wound from bleeding in just 15 seconds. The XStat is a modified syringe that injects tiny... 

An environmental group has revealed that the caramel coloring used in Pepsi still contains a concerning level of a carcinogen, even after the company said it would change its formula. In March, PepsiCo Inc. and Coca-Cola Co. said they would adjust their formulas across the U.S. after California passed a law ruling drinks with a certain level of carcinogens display a cancer warning. The chemical is... 

Roughly 80 percent of all the packaged foods sold within the United States contain chemicals outlawed in other parts of the world, Britain’s Daily Mail reports. Six common food additives found in an estimated 8-out-of-10 products sold in American stores are banned outside of the US, the Mail claims, putting millions of Americans at risk of consuming chemicals considered too dangerous for humans... 

A number of top US grocery stores, including Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods, have pledged to reject selling the genetically engineered “frankenfish” if it is allowed on the market in April. The mutant fish was engineered by scientists at a company called AquaBounty, which has spent more than 15 years and $50 million researching and perfecting the frankenfish. The mutants can grow to market size... 

The world’s first bionic eye has been approved by America’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The futuristic retinal prosthesis will be used to treat a certain type of blindness. The product, which has been named Argus II, was designed by California-based Second Sight – which focuses on developing, manufacturing, and marketing implantable visual prosthetics. It’s a fitting name for a company... 

Chocolate factories in Switzerland are infuriated by US inspections on their universally-loved confectionery for bioterrorism or radioactive threats. Factories have no choice but allow checks; otherwise will they be banned from the profitable US market. ­At least 21 Swiss chocolate factories and 18 dairies are obliged to allow inspections of their work until September 20, German business journal... 

The Food and Drug Administration has approved a once-per-day HIV treatment that combines its Gilead Sciences Inc.’s drug Truvada with Johnson & Johnson’s drug Edurant, Gilead said Wednesday. The combination pill is called Complera, and it is approved for patients who have not previously been treated for HIV. Gilead’s drug Truvada is a combination pill containing the drugs emtracitabine... 

A yearlong sting operation, including aliases, a 5 a.m. surprise inspection and surreptitious purchases from an Amish farm in Pennsylvania, culminated in the federal government announcing this week that it has gone to court to stop Rainbow Acres Farm from selling its contraband to willing customers in the Washington area. The product in question: unpasteurized milk. It’s a battle that’s been going...