Berkeley, California - Taking in such spine-tingling wonders as the Grand Canyon, Sistine Chapel ceiling or Schubert’s “Ave Maria” may give a boost to the body’s defense system, according to new research from UC Berkeley.

Cambridge, Massachusetts - In 2008, the World Health Organization announced a global effort to eradicate malaria, which kills about 800,000 people every year. As part of that goal, scientists are trying to develop new drugs that target the malaria parasite during the stage when it infects the human liver, which is crucial because some strains of malaria can lie dormant in the liver for several years before flaring up.

Cambridge, Massachusetts - The World Health Organization (WHO) cites good hand hygiene as a major factor in stopping the spread of hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) caused by exposure to various bacteria.

Atlanta, Georgia - A new analysis led by researchers at the American Cancer Society in collaboration with the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) finds lung cancer has surpassed breast cancer as the leading cause of cancer death in females in developed countries. The authors of the report say the change reflects the tobacco epidemic in women, which occurred later than in men. Lung cancer has been the leading cause of cancer death in males in developed countries for several decades. It is also the leading cause of cancer death for males in developing countries, where breast cancer remains the top cause of cancer death in females.

Dallas, Texas - One in three people say they would risk living a shorter life instead of taking a daily pill to prevent cardiovascular disease, according to new research in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, an American Heart Association journal.

Washington, DC - The release of data from a nationwide government survey on American’s use of natural products such as melatonin, Echinacea, probiotics, as well as on the use of mind and body approaches such as yoga, chiropractic, massage, and meditation. The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will hold a webinar/telephone briefing to discuss the findings of the most recent reports from the National Health Interview Survey.