Work begins on Tufts research lab

Tufts University started work this month on the Arnold 8 Biosafety Laboratory, a biosafety level 3 research facility at 136 Harrison Avenue, within its existing medical research building. Construction will be completed this summer, with operation depending on the lab’s approval.

Update on City of Boston Flu Emergency

Mayor Thomas M. Menino today announced updates to the City’s response plan for an increasingly severe flu season. Twenty-two community health centers across the City have committed to providing free public clinics this weekend; a full list of participating centers can be found at www.bphc.org.

NIH concludes that BU Biolab poses minimal risk to community

Today, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) issued a Supplemental Record of Decision on Boston University’s National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories (NEIDL) affirming that the lab poses minimal risk to the surrounding community.

Smoking linked to hearing loss, Alzheimer’s

Smoking not only kills, but deafens people and robs them of their memory as well. It causes more than 440,000 deaths each year, or nearly one in five deaths, according to the American Cancer Society.

Lung cancer was most deadly cancer for Boston’s Asians from 2006 to 2008, ahead of liver and colorectal cancers, according to the Boston Public Health Commission. The lethal consequences of smoking are a clear reason to quit.

Four Human Cases of West Nile Virus Confirmed in Boston Residents

The Boston Public Health Commission yesterday announced another confirmed human case of West Nile Virus (WNV) this year. The case, an East Boston resident in his 40’s, was hospitalized but has been released.