Oklahoma health and medical news briefs

The state Health Department reminds food preparers that the holiday season can present food safety challenges.

Each year about 1 in 6 Americans becomes ill with a foodborne illness. It's important to practice good hand hygiene while preparing meals. Always check the internal temperature of cooked meat, poultry and egg dishes with a food thermometer to make sure that the food is cooked to a safe temperature.

If preparing turkey, allow enough time for a frozen turkey to defrost. Incorrectly thawed turkey can look safe to eat but be undercooked, allowing illness-causing germs to survive inside. For other safe holiday food preparation details, go to www.health.ok.gov.

discovery by OMRF could change

brain cancer surgeries

A discovery by scientists at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation could be key to improving brain cancer treatment, researchers said. The work could benefit patients suffering from glioma, a type of cancer that grows from glial cells in the brain and spinal cord.