Hookah is often seen as a cleaner alternative to smoking cigarettes, but researchers at The University of Texas at Arlington are launching a new study to put that assumption to the test.

Plant researchers from Wales and Uganda have collaborated on a community enterprise project in rural Uganda, becoming the first to create affordable and highly effective mosquito repellent distilled from locally grown catnip plants. Laboratory and field experiments reveal that the catnip-based repellent skin lotion is just as effective as DEET and offers a much cheaper alternative for preventative action against mosquito-borne diseases in malaria-endemic regions, while also providing new economic opportunities for local Ugandans.

Fox Chase Cancer Center researchers found that adding an FDA-approved thyroid hormone after chemotherapy helped prevent tumor regrowth in laboratory and animal studies. This approach is now being tested in a national pediatric clinical trial for medulloblastoma.