According to a study published by The Lancet on Monday, the first use of embryonic stem cells in humans eased a degenerative form of blindness in two volunteers and showed no signs of any adverse effects.

The results of the cautious first-stage test that was designed to examine whether the treatment is safe, had been previously announced by Massachusetts biotech firm Advanced Cell Technology (ACT) Inc.

“The Stargardt’s patient reports that she can see more colour and has better contract and dark adaptation out of the operated eye. In fact, she started using her computer and could even read her watch… (and) says she can even thread a needle now,” Bob Lanza, ACT’s chief scientific officer, said in an email to AFP.

Green Valley Food Corp. has announced the recall of 650 cases of alfalfa sprouts distributed in Texas because of possible salmonella contamination.

The company said in a statement late on Thursday that “Let’s Grow Healthy Together!” Alfalfa Sprouts in 5 ounce containers with the date January 1, 2012 on the label are being voluntarily recalled. Green Valley said the product was distributed to retail chains and food distribution centers in Texas and other alfalfa products or blends are not affected. There have been no confirmed illnesses related to the recalled product at this point, according to the company.

A random customer sample tested positive for salmonella earlier this month. Salmonella can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems.

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A new blood test could hold promise as a means of early detection and diagnosis for often deadly pancreatic cancers.

The test, which measures levels of a protein known as PAM4, was able to identify two-thirds of patients who had pancreatic cancer at an early stage of their disease, according to researchers reporting on Tuesday at the annual Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium in San Francisco.

“When a person gets cancer, this protein spills into the bloodstream,” explained Dr. Igor Astsaturov, an assistant professor of medical oncology at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia. Astsaturov, who was not involved with the study, said the results were “certainly welcome news.”

“For providers of care for patients with pancreatic cancer, hampered by their inability to readily detect these cancers in some cases, especially in earlier stages, this shows tremendous promise that blood-based assay can add to our ability to diagnose pancreatic cancer at an earlier stage, thereby impacting patients lives,” said Dr. Morton S. Kahlenberg, a gastrointestinal cancers expert with the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

U.S. health regulators recently said that Johnson & Johnson shut down a clinical trial of its antibiotic Doribax for a type of pneumonia. This was after patients taking the drug had higher rates of death and a lower cure rate than those who got an alternative medicine.

Doribax, known generically as doripenem, is presently approved in the United States for treating adults with complicated urinary tract or abdominal infections but not for any type of pneumonia.

Doribax was still safe and effective for its approved uses in the United States, according to Shaun Mickus, spokesman at Janssen, the J&J unit.

The consumer health unit of Novartis will be taking a hit of $120 million in the fourth quarter after the Swiss drugmaker decided to voluntarily recall some products in the United States.

In a statement issued on Sunday, Novartis said operations and shipments had been temporarily stopped at the Novartis Consumer Health (NCH) Lincoln, Nebraska facility for accelerating improvements at the site.

“NCH will take a one-time charge currently estimated at $120 million in the fourth quarter of 2011, relating to the recalls and improvement work at the Lincoln facility,” Novartis said in the statement.

The drugmaker plans to gradually resume operations at its Lincoln site following implementation of planned improvements and in agreement with the FDA.