All Stories by Nathan Seppa
- Health & Medicine
Common additive thwarts malaria parasite
Triclosan--a drug used as an antimicrobial agent in toothpaste, deodorant, and other products--kills rodent malaria parasites in mice and human malaria parasites in test-tube studies.
- Health & Medicine
Teeth grinding linked to sleep apnea
Rhythmic grinding of teeth during sleep occurs at least once a week in as many as 8.2 percent of people.
- Health & Medicine
Lyme vaccine works in a curious way
Antibodies formed in response to the vaccine against Lyme disease kill the bacteria that cause it while they are still in the deer tick that spreads it.
- Health & Medicine
It pays to keep those islet cells
A patient who has inflammation of the pancreas and needs to have the organ removed can avoid getting diabetes if islet cells are salvaged from the pancreas and reimplanted into the liver.
- Health & Medicine
HIV-related viruses still cross species line
Various potentially dangerous strains of simian immunodeficiency virus exist in wild primates in Africa and are still being spread among people who hunt the animals for meat.
- Health & Medicine
Found: Mutation for deadly nerve disorder
Two research teams have discovered the genetic mutation that causes familial dysautonomia, a lethal hereditary disease that causes nervous system damage.
- Health & Medicine
Raloxifene doesn’t hike breast density
Estrogen-replacement therapy that includes estrogen increases breast-tissue density among postmenopausal women, but the estrogen-replacement drug raloxifene doesn’t.
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Protein May Tie Obesity to Diabetes
A newly discovered protein secreted by fat cells could be the link between obesity and type II diabetes.
- Health & Medicine
Cocaine link to heart attack bolstered
Regular cocaine use may account for one-fourth of nonfatal heart attacks in people under age 45.
- Health & Medicine
Gene mutation can spur autoimmunity
A mutation of a gene on the X chromosome can lead to a dangerous autoimmune disorder and type I diabetes.
- Health & Medicine
Protein pair induces nerve repair in mice
Mice genetically engineered to make two proteins normally active in early nerve development are able to regrow damaged nerve fibers somewhat in their central nervous systems.
