Health & Medicine
- Health & Medicine
Acupuncture as Placebo
There may be some treatments for which a true placebo is unavailable.
By Janet Raloff -
- Life
Epic Genetics
The way genes are packaged by "epigenetic" changes may play a major role in the risk of addiction, depression and other mental disorders.
- Health & Medicine
Sticky when wet
An improved way to make the sticky protein that mussels use to cling to underwater rocks could lead to better cardiac stents.
- Health & Medicine
Smart microbes
Bacteria are smarter than you might think. Single-celled microbes can learn to predict changes in their environments and prepare themselves.
- Health & Medicine
Perchlorate: A Saga Continues
Perchlorate is not yet a household word in many parts of the country. But it may becomes one if Sen. Barbara Boxer has her way. Perchlorate – an ingredient in solid rocket fuel, fireworks, flares and explosives – taints drinking-water supplies around the nation, not to mention plenty of foods. In animal tests, the pollutant […]
By Janet Raloff - Health & Medicine
Glucose galore
Pregnant women with elevated blood sugar are more likely to have oversized babies, posing a risk to mother and newborn.
By Nathan Seppa - Health & Medicine
Leaving a mark
Child abuse may leave chemical marks on the brains of people who later kill themselves.
- Agriculture
Ethanol Fallout: Health Risks for Livestock
With Uncle Sam pushing the production of ethanol for fuel, U.S. farmers are planting more corn than at any time since World War II, and garnering premium prices for each harvested bushel. But many livestock operations are getting hit with a double whammy: higher feeds costs and corn-derived feed that’s carrying triple the normal load of fungal poisons.
By Janet Raloff - Health & Medicine
Stub it out
Quitting cigarettes shows health benefits even decades after the last puff.
By Nathan Seppa - Life
DNA tweak no good for diabetics
A genetic variation that increases levels of a blood-building protein also ups the risk of developing complications from diabetes.
- Health & Medicine
Potential for protection
A study of U.S. veterans suggests that the anti-inflammatory drug ibuprofen could have a protective effect against Alzheimer’s disease. But researchers say more work is needed.
By Nathan Seppa