Baby Born With Extra Foot ... in Brain

Industry is downplaying cancer risks, charges group

(NEWSER) - A new report charges that health organizations and the cell phone industry are downplaying clear links between cell phone use and brain cancer, reports the Los Angeles Times. The latest research shows that cell phone use significantly increases the risk of some kind of tumors, and that young people are most at risk because their brains are still developing, notes the report, issued by a collection of groups concerned about the effects of electromagnetic radiation. More»

Kennedy's glioma, depending on size of tumor, could affect speech, memory, movement

(NEWSER) - While doctors know that Sen. Ted Kennedy has the most common form of brain cancer, the positioning, type and size of the tumor will determine the degree of danger and side effects from surgery, CNN reports. Kennedy’s glioma is in the left parietal lobe, which is involved in speaking and understanding speech as well as motor control for the body's right side. More»

Rhode Island state officials order new safety procedures

(NEWSER) - State health officials fined Rhode Island Hospital yesterday and ordered it to change procedures after a surgeon began operating on the wrong side of a woman's head, the Providence Journal reports. A patient died after a similar incident four months ago. Yesterday's incident is the third botched neurosurgical procedure this year at the hospital and the fourth in six years, the Journal notes. More»

Biggest study of its kind can't find a link

(NEWSER) - If you've been living with the nagging fear that your beloved cellphone is probably giving you a brain tumor, you can relax now; a new Danish study published yesterday has concluded that there's no link between cellphones and cancer. The study is the largest ever conducted on the subject, with 358,403 participants, the AP reports. Researchers found that decade-long cellphone users weren't any more likely to get cancer, or to develop tumors near where they typically hold their phones. More»

How about a 10-pound hairball?

(NEWSER) - Humanity pulls appalling stunts so routinely they're the norm, but some things are truly disturbing. Cracked runs down a list of the seven most terrifying things to ever be pulled from a human body:

• A hairball: Surgeons pulled a 10-pound, foot-long one out of 18-year-old woman in Chicago in 2007. She apparently suffered from a disorder that made her eat her hair. "A lot."
• Brainworm: Blurry vision with headaches? Pray for a brain tumor, lest you wind up like the woman who had a tapeworm in her brain stem—most likely from "ingesting human fecal matter." Bon appetit!