Medical tape is used on practically all hospital patients, from newborns to the elderly, in the emergency room and in a number of departments within the hospital. Common uses are for wound closure, intravenous (IV) therapy or other procedures. It is a rare patient that does not encounter tape.
In 2009, more than 30,000 people in the U.S. learned they had cancer linked to the human papillomavirus, or HPV. This virus is best known for causing cervical cancer, but its also the culprit behind many cancers of the mouth, throat, anus, and genitals. Unlike many forms of cancer, for which we lack the knowledge and tools to prevent, scientists have figured out how to dodge HPV-triggered cancers by HPV vaccination. Vaccination against HPV thwarts the viruses spread, wrecking its ability to jump between people. Wiping out HPV could mean shutting down a big source of cancer cases more than 3 percent of all diagnoses nationwide.
Scientists have discovered that that the flu virus can essentially tell time, thereby giving scientists the ability to reset the virus clock and combat it in more effective ways. According to researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, the flu knows how much time it has to multiply, infect other cells, and spread to another human being. If it leaves a cell too soon, the virus is too weak. If it leaves too late, the immune system has time to kill the virus.
