— The UK Department of Health last week awarded £20 million ($32 million) to child survivors of thalidomide, a drug prescribed from 1958 to 1961 for morning sickness. Of the more than 2,000 British children born with debilitating defects because their mothers took the drug, the 466 who are still alive will share the money to cover health care services not available through the National Health Service and to pay for other lifestyle adaptations into old age. (BBC)

— Tumors can fuel their own growth by using circulating cancer cells to regenerate themselves during metastasis. The findings — from mouse models of breast, colon and melanoma cancers — suggest that cancer seeds might return to tissue after tumor removal because of inflammation, but this can be stopped by suppressing the immune system reaction. (Reuters)

— The US Securities and Exchange Commission has accused two French investors of using information on Sanofi-Aventis’ $1.9 billion purchase of Chattem Inc. — the maker of foot powder, anti-dandruff shampoo, and other goods — to garner $4.2 million through insider trading. Neither pharmaceutical company is accused of wrongdoing, with the deal creating the world’s fifth-largest consumer health care company. (Bloomberg)

— The Associated Press has reported the first case of extremely drug-resistant (XXDR) tuberculosis in the US. The 19-year-old Peruvian man with the contagious and aggressive strain of the disease is one of only a handful XXDR patients in the world, although there are an estimated 500,000 global cases of multiple drug-resistant (MDR) tuberculosis each year. (ABC News)

Image of malformed feet because of maternal thalidomide from otisarchives3 via Flickr Creative Commons