John Travis

All Stories by John Travis

  1. Health & Medicine

    Immunity’s Eyes

    Proteins called toll-like receptors allow human immune cells to detect microbes.

  2. Tech

    Crystal listens for telltale sounds of virus

    Scientists have built a device that can hear the movement of viral particles in fluids.

  3. Health & Medicine

    Insulin lowers more than blood sugar

    Insulin may reduce inflammation and protect the heart.

  4. Health & Medicine

    Healing the heart from within

    An unusual mouse strain can regenerate heart tissue when the organ is damaged.

  5. Health & Medicine

    Stem cell research marches on

    Cells from human embryos can be transformed into heart cells or insulin-secreting cells.

  6. Health & Medicine

    Drugs Counter Mad Cow Agent in Cells

    Fueled only by promising studies of cells, a California research team has invited controversy by beginning to give a little-used malaria drug to patients who have the human version of mad cow disease.

  7. Humans

    Cloning hearing creates media frenzy

    A panel reviewing human cloning heard the pros and cons of the issue during a fiery debate.

  8. Humans

    Bush favors some stem cell research

    President Bush said he would support work on stem cells that already had been propagated from embryos otherwise fated for disposal in fertility clinics, but he opposes financing the destruction of additional embryos to create new cell lines.

  9. Agriculture

    Gene Makes Tomatoes Tolerate Salt

    The world's first genetically engineered salt-tolerant tomato plant may help farmers utilize spoiled lands.

  10. New Antibiotics Take Poke at Bacteria

    Small rings of amino acids can self-assemble into tubes that punch holes in bacteria.

  11. Obscure brain chemicals draw new attention

    Long-dismissed brain chemicals called trace amines have receptors on human cells and may play a role in depression and schizophrenia.

  12. Health & Medicine

    Radiation harms blood vessels before gut

    The side-effects of radiation therapy may result from initial damage to blood vessels.