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23andMe, the Google-backed genetic-testing startup, is planning to expand its working and will now make new medicines to cure people affected by diseases.

The company has hired a top biotechnology executive to help in the project. Richard Scheller will be heading the 23andMe’s new therapeutics group. Scheller has spent 15 years at Genentech. At Genentech, he has led research and development section, which pioneered cancer drugs Herceptin and Avastin.

It is the next big step for 23andMe, which started from selling novelty ancestry kits and then doing business with major pharmaceutical companies like Pfizer and Genentech and now, it is getting geared up to compete with big giants.

Although Palcohol, or powdered alcohol, has received government approval, efforts to ban it nationwide are now underway.

According to Mark Phillips Palcohol’s maker, Palcohol comes in a pouch and can be turned into a cocktail by just adding water to it. They further told that it comes in four different varieties including rum, vodka, cosmopolitan and powderita.

He said, “If they’re an outdoor enthusiast and they’re going hiking, backpacking, biking, kayaking, boating – anywhere where weight is an issue, having powdered alcohol is a lot lighter than liquid alcohol”.

Experts are still concerned that the portability of this product can make its dangerous, especially for kids.

According to scientists, an experimental and non-invasive technique using ultrasound helps remove the brain plaques in mice, which could lead to Alzheimer’s disease.

According to the study in the journal Science Translational Medicine, using sound waves to penetrate tissue removed most of amyloid plaque in 75% of the animals studied, without causing any harm to brain tissue.

According to James Hendrix, director of global science initiatives for the Alzheimer's Association, "We know that amyloid interferes with the function of neurons and causes brain cells to die, but not everyone with amyloid in their brain will go on to develop Alzheimer's or another dementia".

On Thursday, NBC News Chief Medical Editor Nancy Snyderman announced that she has decided to leave her job. Last fall, Snyderman had broken a voluntary quarantine after covering the Ebola epidemic.

Snyderman said she has decided to return to academic medicine. According to the physician, she will take up a faculty position at a major United States medical school. She said, “More needs to be done to communicate medicine and science to our viewers and citizens, especially in times of crisis, and with my experiences in the field and on air, that is going to be a priority for me”.

David Rennie went through tough time for two years as he had to go through regular dialysis because of kidney problems he had. The 54-year-old Shelton resident was provided a means of survival by dialysis, but he was not able to perform certain daily tasks because of the condition.

Diabetes and high blood pressure worsened his condition to such an extent that he required a kidney transplant. He was all set for a surgery in December as his wife, Margaret, agreed to donate a kidney to him, but it later surfaced that his wife was not a good match for him.

They were in despair until they came to know about a historic eight-patient kidney transplant that took place March 3 at Yale-New Haven Hospital.

A new report released on Thursday shows that if legal age to buy cigarette is increased to 21 years then it can help in reducing smoking rate and would also save hundreds of thousands of lives by the end of the century.

Majority of the US states allow people to buy cigarettes at age 18. However, there are four states, Alabama, Alaska, New Jersey and Utah that allow tobacco to be sold only to those who are 19 years old and above.

The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids said that 58 localities in seven states do not allow the sale of cigarettes to people under-21 years of age. As per the law passed in 2009, the Food and Drug Administration has the authority to regulate tobacco.