Health & Medicine

Life

Insulin-producing cells can regenerate in diabetic mice

Animal study finds that the pancreas can spontaneously regenerate beta cells.

Chemistry

Skin as a source of drug pollution

Traces of over-the-counter and prescription meds taint the environment. The presumption Ì and it's a good one Ì has been that most of these residues come from the urine and solid wastes excreted by treated patients. But in some instances, a leading source of a drug may be skin Ì either because the medicine was applied there or because people sweat it out.

Health & Medicine

Bees forage with their guts

Researchers show that a gene helps honeybees choose between nectar and pollen.

Health & Medicine

Putting African sleeping sickness to bed

Experiments in mice find a protein that could lead to a safer and more effective treatment for parasitic disease.

Health & Medicine

Junk food junkies, round two

Laura Sanders follows up on a story first reported from the Society for Neuroscience’s 2009 meeting.

Health & Medicine

Identical twins may not be so identical when it comes to gut bacteria

A new study suggests that intestinal microbe populations vary widely from one person to another.

Health & Medicine

Cap or cork, it’s the wine that matters most

Comparative study finds that screw tops can perform just as well in regulating the aging process.

Health & Medicine

Walnuts slow prostate cancer growth

A new study suggests that mice with prostate tumors should say “nuts to cancer.” Paul Davis of the University of California, Davis, hopes follow-up data by his team and others will one day justify men saying the same.

Tech

Smokin’ entrees: Charcoal grilling tops the list

At the American Chemical Society meeting, earlier this week, I stayed at a hotel that fronted onto the kitchen door of a Burger King. This explained the source of the beefy scent that perfumed the air from mid-morning on – the restaurant’s exhaust of smoke and meat-derived aerosols. A study presented at the meeting confirmed what my nose observed: that commercial grilling can release relatively huge amounts of pollutants.

Health & Medicine

One of H1N1’s mysteries explained

The current H1N1 influenza shares many similarities with the 1918 pandemic influenza.

Health & Medicine

Existing antibiotic might help keep wraps on AIDS virus

The acne drug minocycline inhibits HIV activation in infected immune cells, lab tests show.

Health & Medicine

UV radiation, not vitamin D, might limit multiple sclerosis symptoms

The rarity of MS in the tropics may be due to higher ultraviolet light exposure, not necessarily increased vitamin production, new research suggests.