Health & Medicine
- 			
			
		Health & MedicineTaking a Jab at Cancer
Vaccines that train a person's immune system to kill cancerous cells, when combined with drugs that block tumor defense mechanisms, are starting to show promise.
 - 			
			
		Health & MedicineNew Clues: Gene variations may contribute to MS risk
Variants of two genes encoding immune system proteins may confer a higher risk for multiple sclerosis.
By Nathan Seppa - 			
			
		Health & MedicineWaking Up: Brain stimulator spurs dramatic improvement years after injury
A man who spent 6 years in a minimally conscious state regained the ability to talk, eat, and move after doctors implanted electrodes deep in his brain.
By Brian Vastag - 			
			
		Health & MedicineA Melon for Dieters and Diabetics
Novel watermelons offer lots of taste but little sugar.
By Janet Raloff - 			
			
		Health & MedicineTB medication offers pain relief
An antibiotic once used to treat tuberculosis may offer relief from chronic pain.
By Jenny Pegg - 			
			
		Health & MedicineStatin reduces dementia risk
A popular anticholesterol drug reduces older adults' chances of developing dementia.
By Brian Vastag - 			
			
		Health & MedicineA Gut Feeling about Coffee
People's gut microbes digest fiber from coffee in a fermentation process, making beneficial compounds.
By Janet Raloff - 			
			
		Health & MedicineGrim Reap Purr: Nursing home feline senses the end
A nursing home cat in Rhode Island knows when the end is nigh, predicting with uncanny accuracy when residents will die.
By Brian Vastag - 			
			
		Health & MedicineGood Light: Sun early in life could protect against MS
Childhood exposure to direct sunshine may protect people against developing multiple sclerosis later.
By Nathan Seppa - 			
			
		Health & MedicinePerception is longevity
Mice lived longer when they were fooled into sensing lower insulin levels than they actually had.
 - 			
			
		Health & MedicinePhytochemical Beauty
Our Food For Thought column recently published two offerings on health-related findings about genistein, a soybean constituent. Ever wonder what that chemical looks like? Or how about capsaicin—the spicy agent in hot chilies being explored as a painkiller, lycopene—the red pigment in watermelons that may protect our skin against harmful ultraviolet rays, or sulforaphane—a trace […]
By Science News - 			
			
		Health & MedicineBrain Seasoning: A common spice could deter Alzheimer’s
A compound in the curry spice turmeric restores the ability of immune system cells to destroy plaques linked to Alzheimer's disease.