How tattoos can help patients with skin grafts and scars

(Reuters Health) - Patients who get tattoos to cover facial skin grafts and scars may feel happier with both their appearance and quality of life, a Dutch study suggests.

Blood Clot Removal Could Help More Stroke Victims, Study Finds

Study found some stroke patients benefited from early clot removal.

Pelzman's Picks: Proposed Presidential Health Plans

(MedPage Today) -- Also, price transparency tools, frequent flyers, and more

Two police officers in Texas shot while responding to suicide call: police

One of the officers was shot multiple times while the other was shot once and suffered minor injuries when the round struck his protective vest, Fort Worth Police Department Marc Povero told a news conference aired on a local NBC affiliate. The police department said on Twitter that both officers, who were not identified, were in a stable condition and one was to be released from the hospital early on Saturday.

Bayer's Monsanto acquisition to face politically charged scrutiny

WASHINGTON D.C./NEW YORK (Reuters) - As the global agricultural sector races to consolidate, Bayer AG's $66 billion all-cash deal to acquire Monsanto Co will test growing political and consumer unease in the United States and abroad over the future of food production.

FDA panel recommends dropping serious warning on Pfizer's Chantix

Pfizer's Chantix was approved about a decade ago, but thousands of reports of mental health problems in users led to the FDA imposing the "black box" warning - the most severe available - in 2009. On Wednesday, four of the 19 panelists voted to update the language in the box warning - of neuropsychiatric risks including suicidal thoughts, hostility and agitation - while five recommended retaining it. The 10 who voted in favor of removal stressed that the benefits of quitting smoking far outweighed the potential severe side-effects of the drug, and that the evidence of causality between Chantix and the side-effects was not clear enough to warrant a black box.

At least 21 civilians killed in Saudi-led air strikes in Yemen: residents

At least 21 civilians were killed in two separate air strikes by the Saudi-led coalition in northern Yemen on Saturday, residents said on Sunday, as fighting intensified in the country before the Muslim Eid al-Adha feast. Residents said Saudi-led coalition warplanes, apparently mistaking the drilling machine for a rocket launcher, bombed the site and killed four workers. The planes conducted a second raid when residents of the village rushed to the scene, killing at least 11 more and wounding 20.

Danaher to buy Cepheid in $4 billion deal to expand in diagnostics

(Reuters) - Danaher Corp said on Tuesday it would buy molecular diagnostics company Cepheid in a deal valued at $4 billion, including debt, to strengthen its diagnostics business. Danaher will pay $53 per share in cash, a premium of 54 percent to Cepheid's close of $34.42 on Friday. Danaher, which develops technology for the dental, life sciences, diagnostics and environmental industries, said the addition of Cepheid would improve operational efficiencies and expand margins in its $5 billion diagnostics business.

Three Ways to Manage Staffing Shortages

(MedPage Today) -- Gaps can be avoided or at least minimized

Singapore confirms 27 more locally transmitted Zika cases

Twenty-five new cases were linked to the initial outbreak area, one was linked to a potential new cluster and the remaining new case had no known links to any existing cluster, the Ministry of Health and National Environment Agency said in a joint statement. "There is a potential new cluster involving one previously reported case and a new case today...," the statement said.

FDA halts sale of some antibacterial hand, body wash products

The move affects 2,100 products, or roughly 40 percent of the over-the-counter antibacterial soap market, Dr. Theresa Michele, director of the FDA's division of nonprescription drug products, told reporters on a conference call. The ruling does not affect alcohol-based hand sanitizers or antibacterial products used in hospitals and clinics. The agency said it is banning products that contain any one of 19 ingredients that have not been proven safe.