Edinburgh gives female medical students their degrees – 150 years late

Victorian women who were prevented from qualifying as doctors are finally recognised

Seven women who were among the first females to be admitted to a British university have been awarded posthumous degrees 150 years after they started their studies.

The group, known collectively as the Edinburgh Seven, enrolled to study medicine at the University of Edinburgh in 1869. But they faced substantial resistance from their male peers and were ultimately prevented from graduating and qualifying as doctors.

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The drugs don’t work: what happens after antibiotics?

Antibiotic resistance is growing so fast that routine surgery could soon become impossible. But scientists are fighting back in the battle against infection

The first antibiotic that didn’t work for Debbi Forsyth was trimethoprim. In March 2016, Forsyth, a genial primary care counsellor from Morpeth, Northumberland, contracted a urinary tract infection. UTIs are common: more than 150 million people worldwide contract one every year. So when Forsyth saw her GP, they prescribed the usual treatment: a three-day course of antibiotics. When, a few weeks later, she fainted and started passing blood, she saw her GP again, who again prescribed trimethoprim.

Three days after that, Forsyth’s husband Pete came home to find his wife lying on the sofa, shaking, unable to call for help. He rushed her to A&E. She was put on a second antibiotic, gentamicin, and treated for sepsis, a complication of the infection that can be fatal if not treated quickly. The gentamicin didn’t work either. Doctors sent Forsyth’s blood for testing, but such tests can take days: bacteria must be grown in cultures, then tested against multiple antibiotics to find a suitable treatment. Five days after she was admitted to hospital, Forsyth was diagnosed with an infection of multi-drug-resistant E coli, and given ertapenem, one of the so-called “last resort” antibiotics.

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Elizabeth Warren’s DNA claim inflames some Native Americans

The DNA test that Sen. Elizabeth Warren used to try to rebut the ridicule of President Donald Trump angered some Native Americans, who complained that the genetic analysis cheapens the identities of tribal members with deeper ties to the Indian past. Warren was born in Oklahoma, which is home to 39 tribes and where more than 7 percent of the population identifies as Native American, one of the highest proportions in the nation.

‘Disease’ vs. ‘Difference’: A Question of Eugenics?

Just 100 years ago in the United States, eugenics was the law. From 1907 to 1931, Indiana, California, and 28 other states carried out the forced sterilization of more than 64,000 people who were deemed "unfit"-including the "intellectually disabled," immigrants, people of color, poor people, unmarried mothers, the physically disabled, and the mentally ill.

Here are the special interests that have given the most to Robert Menendez

U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez first ran for the U.S. House in 1992 and has been raising money for his campaigns ever since. He has brought in more than $50 million during that time, according to the Center for Responsive Politics , a Washington research group.

Republicans launch new attack ad on Phillips in House race

A new ad from Republican U.S. Rep. Erik Paulsen accuses Democratic challenger Dean Phillips of doing nothing about a sexual harassment case brought by seven female nurses against Allina Health clinic in 2007, when Phillips served on the Allina board. The commercial , which debuted on Twin Cities television Wednesday evening, cites a February 2007 lawsuit by the nurses, who alleged they were sexually harassed by a doctor at an Allina clinic in Richfield.

Wheeler’s first big science test shows alignment with Pruitt agenda on EPA board appointments

Acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler speaks to staff at the Environmental Protection Agency headquarters on July 11, 2018 in Washington, DC. CREDIT: Mark Wilson/Getty Images Acting Environmental Protection Agency administrator Andrew Wheeler appears to be continuing in the vein of his predecessor Scott Pruitt, after the official largely opted out of appointing scientists to an advisory panel on air pollution.

Nurse staffing proposal trailing in new poll NEW

Opponents outnumber supporters of Question 1 in newly released UMass-Lowell poll results that also show Gov. Charlie Baker and Sen. Elizabeth Warren maintaining large leads over their opponents as they seek re-election on Nov. 6. The poll of 791 registered voters , taken the first week of October, showed 51 percent of likely voters opposed nurse ... (more)

Protesters target opioid maker

The Winchester family of Philip Baldwin, who fatally overdosed in July 2017, participated in a protest Sunday against Purdue Pharma, the makers of OxyContin. The all-day protest took place outside the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery at the Smithsonian Institution and at Freedom Park near the White House, according to Beth Baldwin, Philip Baldwin's mother.

Increase Access to Colorectal Cancer Screening

Dear Editor: Congress has an opportunity to stand up for older Americans by closing the Medicare loophole that can create a financial barrier to access lifesaving colonoscopies. While individuals on private health care plans have their colonoscopies covered as a preventive service, a loophole exists that allows individuals on Medicare to be charged for their screening if a polyp is found and removed during the procedure the very action that helps save lives from colorectal cancer.

Tennessee Supreme Court hears lethal injection arguments

Registration will allow you to post comments on StamfordAdvocate.com and create a StamfordAdvocate.com Subscriber Portal account for you to manage subscriptions and email preferences. Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Jeffrey S. Bivins, second from right, speaks as the court hears arguments regarding the state's use of a three-drug cocktail for executions Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2018, in Nashville, Tenn.

Utah man arrested in case of poisoned letters sent to White House; ricin ingredients found

Federal authorities arrested a Utah man Wednesday after suspicious envelopes were sent to President Trump and top military leaders, some of which contained the natural ingredients used to make the deadly poison ricin. A person holds seeds of the castor oil plant containing the deadly poison ricin, on June 14, 2018 in Berlin.

Culture shift: What’s behind a decline in drinking worldwide

Workers outside of a pub in the City of London Oct. 18, 2017. A traditional pastime of lunch or after-work drinks with colleagues may be fading, part of a worldwide trend that is seeing a drop in the overall percentage of people who consume alcoholic beverages.

Medicare upgrades its website ahead of sign-up season

In this March 22, 2017, file photo, President Donald Trump , left, and Texas State Sen. Dawn Buckingham, right, listen as Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Seema Verma speaks during a meeting on women in healthcare in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington. Medicare is modernizing its website to make it more useful for beneficiaries, particularly younger ones already going online for information from insurers, hospitals and doctors.

Yelp for Noise

Over an iced chamomile tea at the midtown Radiance Tea House & Books, whose ambient noise level is not much louder than a coffee percolator's, Gregory Scott Farber described the app he created, SoundPrint, as "Yelp for noise." The free program allows users to search for and grade restaurants and bars according to their sound level.