The bird flu virus, H7N9, has caused 36 deaths in China and has kept health officials worried about the potential for human-to-human transmission. A new article in Bloomberg News confirms this fear as scientists found the virus is, in fact, capable of this type of transmission. “Flu transmission in ferrets is a predictor of patterns in humans,” and researchers found that “Ferrets experimentally infected with the new H7N9 strain passed it to other ferrets occupying the same cage, indicating the virus’s ability to spread via direct contact.”

Read it in Bloomberg News.

In an effort to improve the delivery of therapies for glioblastoma through the blood-brain barrier, new research, presented at the 2013 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, evaluates the effectiveness of PVSRIPO, “a live attenuated, oral (SABIN) serotype 1 poliovirus vaccine containing a heterologous internal ribosomal entry site stemming from human rhinovirus type 2.” A phase I trial involving five patients demonstrated no related or unrelated grade 3 or higher adverse events indicating “infusion of PVSRIPO via CED (convection-enhanced delivery) is safe thus far …”

Read the results from the 2013 ASCO meeting.

Bloomberg News reports that uChek, a new iPhone application created by Biosense Technologies Private Ltd., “ isn’t cleared by the Food and Drug Administration and the agency [FDA] said it wants to know why not, in a first-of-its-kind letter to a maker of a mobile-device application.”  The app lets users check levels of blood, protein and other substances in their urine by dipping test strips in urine and then “use the smartphone’s camera to allow the system to processes and generate automated results.” The FDA said that the test strips must be approved for automated analysis and that “it wants stricter rules for apps that directly diagnose or treat conditions.”

Read it in Bloomberg News.

A new article in Time reports that scientists have solved the mystery of why people itch. They found that “a molecule known as neuropeptide natriuretic polypeptide b (Nppb) that is released by nerve cells far from the actual itch site triggers an electrochemical cascade that ultimately tells the brain it’s time to get scratching.” While these findings may not seem groundbreaking at first, an expert explains that “chronic itch caused by dry skin, psoriasis, diabetes or even liver disease can be maddening, and the cause has long been a true medical mystery.” Scientists believe these new findings will help uncover ways to prevent itching that is associated with these diseases.

Read it in Time.

A new clinical challenge in The Journal of the American Medical Association presents the case of a 10-month-old boy with “erythematous swelling of both ears and right eyelid and erythematous perioral macules following a respiratory tract infection 12 days before presentation. Within 4 days the lesions increased in size, becoming large erythematous plaques on the face. Targetoid, purpuric lesions developed on the limbs, along with hand edema.” The article provides a full case discussion, diagnosis, and patient outcomes.

Read more and solve the case in JAMA.