Leila Larson has been awarded nearly three million dollars from the National Institutes of Health to lead a five-year study aimed at improving childhood health and development. The health promotion, education, and behavior assistant professor and global health researcher will use the funds to deploy a health intervention (i.e., the BUNDLE study) that employs three strategies, individually and in combination, that address critical adversities faced by many children in resource limited settings.

Two U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved drugs for treating prostate cancer may also be effective against acute myeloid leukemia (AML), according to a new study by researchers at Penn State. AML, a cancer of blood and bone marrow, can affect people of all ages but is the most common type of leukemia in adults. 

Highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses—those responsible for bird flu outbreaks—continue to pose challenges for human and animal health. New research led by microbiologist Louise Moncla of the Unviersity of Pennsylvania tracked H5N1 viruses in North America to better understand the role wild birds play in the current bird flu outbreak. These findings could lead to a shift in risk management and outbreak control measures.

A University of Michigan study proposes a new theory of molecular evolution.