Health & Medicine
- Health & Medicine
Women of childbearing age still aren’t getting enough folic acid
To head off a risk of neural tube defects, a class of potentially devastating birth defects, women of childbearing age are supposed to get at least 400 micrograms of folic acid daily. A government study now finds that the vast majority of these women fall short. It finds that the national average for women in this age group is some 40 percent below the recommended minimum.
By Janet Raloff - Health & Medicine
Data from many drug trials for stroke go unpublished
Important details from roughly one in five drug trials for the acute treatment of the most common type of stroke have never entered the public domain, a new study finds. The masked data come from 125 trials that tested effects of 89 different drugs.
By Janet Raloff - Earth
Studies aim to resolve confusion over mercury risks from fish
Several new papers suggest strategies by which American diners can negotiate a mercury minefield to tap dietary benefits in fish.
By Janet Raloff - Health & Medicine
Marker protein may help breast cancer screening
High amounts of EGFR can show up in the blood as much as 17 months before disease is diagnosed, a study finds.
By Nathan Seppa - Health & Medicine
IOM: Manufacturers should help Americans cut back on salt
Americans have developed an unhealthy love affair with this savory condiment. And 40 years of haranguing people about their overconsumption has “generally failed to make a dent in Americans’ intake,” according to the Institute of Medicine, a research arm of the National Academy of Sciences. A new report it releases April 21 will ask the Food and Drug Administration to set lower ceilings on how much salt can be added to processed foods.
By Janet Raloff - Health & Medicine
Colorectal cancer risk linked to stomach bacterium, inflammation
Stomach infection and high levels of inflammatory proteins are more common in people with colon polyps or disease, two studies show.
By Nathan Seppa - Life
BATTLE trial personalizes lung cancer treatment
A new study makes a first step toward personalized chemotherapy.
- Humans
Mercury surprise: Rice can be risky
A new study out of China shows that for millions of people at risk of eating toxic amounts of mercury-laced food, fish isn't the problem. Rice is.
By Janet Raloff - Health & Medicine
Why a rotten tooth is hard to find
The brain can’t distinguish some kinds of pain coming from top versus bottom teeth.
- Health & Medicine
Embryo transfer technique could prevent maternally inherited diseases
A new technique transplants healthy nuclear DNA of cells carrying mutated mitochondria.
- Health & Medicine
Insulin pump and computer mated to regulate blood sugar
A test in type 1 diabetes patients suggests that technology exists to create wearable, self-controlled “artificial pancreas.”
By Nathan Seppa - Life
Mutation effects often depend on genetic milieu
Genetic background is at least as important as environment, fruit fly research shows.