Health & Medicine
- Health & Medicine
Rapid spread of Zika virus in the Americas raises alarm
After blazing through Brazil, a mosquito-borne virus called Zika, which may cause birth defects, is now poised to jump to the United States.
By Meghan Rosen - Health & Medicine
Noisy toys mute conversations
Electronic toys put a damper on the conversations between parents and babies.
- Life
MicroRNAs manage gut microbes
MicroRNAs mold gut microbes into healthier communities for the host.
- Genetics
Bubonic plague hung around in Europe
DNA from plague victims suggests that a European reservoir of the plague bacterium Yersinia pestis could have fueled the medieval pandemic.
- Health & Medicine
CDC issues travel guidelines for pregnant women
Pregnant women should consider postponing travel to much of Latin America and the Caribbean.
By Meghan Rosen - Health & Medicine
Low-fiber diets make gut microbes poop out
A low-fiber diet makes for low bacterial diversity in mice. A new study shows those mice can then pass a denuded microbiome on to their offspring.
- Neuroscience
Measuring brain waves may help predict a patient’s response to anesthesia
Brain signatures hint at whether a person will resist or succumb to anesthesia.
- Science & Society
Insights into sexes’ differing responses to stress
Chronic stress takes its toll on everyone. One of our reporters follows a line of research suggesting that stress hits women harder (or at least differently) than men.
By Eva Emerson - Life
Signs of food allergies may be present at birth
Overactive immune cells may prime babies for food allergies.
- Genetics
Drug candidate fails to improve symptoms of fragile X syndrome
A drug designed to treat fragile X syndrome has proven ineffective in clinical trials.
- Genetics
Drug candidate fails to improve symptoms of fragile X syndrome
A drug designed to treat fragile X syndrome has proven ineffective in clinical trials.
- Health & Medicine
Mom’s weight during pregnancy shapes baby’s health
Obesity at conception or during pregnancy is a big problem that's getting bigger: New evidence says a child's mental health could be at stake.
By Laura Beil