Nathan Seppa
Biomedical Writer (retired September 2015)
 
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All Stories by Nathan Seppa
- 			 Health & Medicine Health & MedicineVisual Clarity: People with MS maintain eyesight with drugA drug for multiple sclerosis seems to prevent subtle vision loss in many patients. 
- 			 Health & Medicine Health & MedicineAgents of Metastasis: Four proteins conspire in breast cancer spreadFour proteins work together to assist cancer growth and metastasis, and drugs against them inhibit both processes, tests in mice suggest. 
- 			 Health & Medicine Health & MedicineAugmenting the good cholesterolA reconstituted version of good cholesterol may lessen the amount of plaque that accumulates in arteries and render existing plaque less dangerous. 
- 			 Health & Medicine Health & MedicineNot-So-Artful Dodgers: Countering drug tests with niacin proves dangerousAttempts to cleanse illicit drugs from one's body by taking large doses of niacin can cause life-threatening reactions. 
- 			 Health & Medicine Health & MedicineMeningitis vaccine stops ear infectionsA vaccine for meningitis and pneumonia also prevents many childhood ear infections and the complications that they cause. 
- 			 Health & Medicine Health & MedicinePatches take sting out of canker soresSmall patches that exude licorice extract can speed healing of canker sores. 
- 			 Health & Medicine Health & MedicineWorking in a cotton mill has bright sidePeople who work amid bales of raw cotton are less likely to get lung cancer than are people in the general population, a study of Chinese women indicates. While past research has shown that workers in a cotton mill tend to develop shortness of breath, chronic cough, and other health problems, some scientists also noted […] 
- 			 Health & Medicine Health & MedicineBalancing Act: Excess steroids during pregnancy may pose risks for offspringHeavy amounts of steroids taken during pregnancy can have long-term deleterious effects on offspring, a study of monkeys shows. 
- 			 Health & Medicine Health & MedicineHepatitis B found in wrestlers’ sweatTraces of hepatitis B have turned up in the perspiration of wrestlers, suggesting that the virus could spread to their opponents and teammates. 
- 			 Health & Medicine Health & MedicinePreemies respond to immunizationsBabies born prematurely rev up an immune response to two routine childhood vaccines as well as babies who are born full-term. 
- 			 Humans HumansBad Influence: TV, movies linked to adolescent smokingWhite adolescents who have frequent exposure to television and R-rated movies are more likely to try smoking than are their peers with less exposure to these media. 
- 			 Health & Medicine Health & MedicineLong-Term ThreatSurvivors of a childhood cancer face a sixfold risk of developing a new cancer later in life, compared with people in the general population.