The use of a pacifier or 'dummy' by babies has been identified as a risk factor for acute otitis media (AOM), a type of common ear infection, new study says.

The researchers from University Medical Center, Utrecht, The Netherlands studied almost 500 Dutch children who used dummies or pacifiers. The study spanning five years found that the pacifiers almost double the risk of recurrent ear infections in those who used it as compared to the non-users

A U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory panel on Wednesday recommended the psoriasis drug Enbrel to be approved for pediatric use with moderate-to-severe forms of the skin disease.

Seven panel members from the advisory committee voted in favor of recommending approval while five voted against and one abstained. The panel said the drug appears effective but expressed concerns about increased risks of malignancy and serious infections like tuberculosis

Doctors have successfully saved the life of an advanced skin cancer patient by treating him with clones of his own immune cells. The 52-year-old man from a small town in Oregon was declared free of melanoma two years after treatment.

Researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle who treated the dying patient extracted white blood cells, the key component of the immune system, and grew the infection-fighting T cells in the laboratory. The cloned T cells, which had been vastly expanded, were then reinfused to the patient to fight the cancer

A British man has died from kidney failure after inhaling poisonous fungal spores. The 47-year-old died of a fungal lung infection after inhaling spore-laden dust stirred up while gardening.

The symptoms started less than 24 hours after he had dispersed rotting tree and plant mulch in the garden. He died in intensive care a week later

A British man has died from kidney failure after inhaling poisonous fungal spores. The 47-year-old died of a fungal lung infection after inhaling spore-laden dust stirred up while gardening.

The symptoms started less than 24 hours after he had dispersed rotting tree and plant mulch in the garden. He died in intensive care a week later