Nathan Seppa
Biomedical Writer (retired September 2015)
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All Stories by Nathan Seppa
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Health & MedicineDo acid blockers let microbes reach the colon?
Suppressing stomach acid while taking antibiotics may allow drug-resistant bacteria to colonize the intestines.
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HumansSmoke Out: Bartenders’ lungs appreciate ban
Pub workers in Scotland breathed easier and showed better respiratory health shortly after a nationwide ban on smoking inside public spaces went into effect.
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Health & MedicineMany infections tied to medical settings
More than one-fourth of skin or muscle infections that require hospitalization originate from microbes acquired in a clinic, hospital, or other medical-care setting.
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Health & MedicineStatins defend against fungus-caused sepsis
Cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins might reduce the risk of dying from sepsis triggered by a fungal infection.
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Hotel-room surfaces can harbor viruses
Rhinovirus, which is responsible for roughly half of all common colds, survives on surfaces in hotel rooms for hours and can be transferred from there to people.
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Health & MedicineNovel approach fights leprosy
An antibiotic typically used to fight sinus infections shows remarkable potency against leprosy.
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Health & MedicineImproving the View: Treatment reverses macular degeneration
People with the eye disease known as macular degeneration now have a better-than-average prospect of recovering some vision, thanks to a new drug that takes a lesson from an anticancer strategy.
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Health & MedicineMixed Bag: Islet-cell transplants offer good and bad news
Most people who've received transplanted islet cells for type 1 diabetes still need daily insulin shots, but the transplanted cells curb blood sugar crashes.
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Health & MedicineUV Blocker: Lotion yields protective tan in fair-skinned mice
A lotion that stimulates production of the skin pigment melanin induces a deep tan in specially bred laboratory mice.
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Health & MedicineProgestin linked to hearing loss in older women
Elderly women who received progestin as part of hormone replacement therapy have poorer hearing than do women who didn't get progestin.
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Health & MedicineWeapon against MS: Transplant drug limits nerve damage
An immune-suppressing drug called fingolimod slows multiple sclerosis relapses in patients.
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Health & MedicineForewarning of preeclampsia
Scientists have found an early warning sign of preeclampsia, a pregnancy complication marked by high blood pressure. Pregnant women with too much of a protein called soluble endoglin in their blood have a heightened risk of preeclampsia, the researchers say. Endoglin normally sits on the surface of blood vessels, where it plays a role in […]