Analyzing DNA from Pap smears could help detect endometrial and ovarian cancer, according to a new study appearing in the 9 January issue of the journal Science Translational Medicine.

The finding could be a potentially life-saving screening tool for women. The routine Pap smear, which allows doctors to detect abnormal cells in a woman’s cervix, was recently updated to screen for human papillomavirus or HPV using DNA testing.

A experimental human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine may be capable of killing cervical cancer cells, according to an early clinical study of the vaccine published in the 10 October issue of the journal Science Translational Medicine.

Doctors in the African nation of Malawi may be able to save more lives among gravely ill infants because of a device developed by Rice University freshmen taking a course in developing new technologies to respond to global health challenges.

Called Appropriate Design for Global Health, the curriculum module has been chosen by the journal Science to receive the Inquiry-Based Instruction (IBI) Prize.