Health & Medicine
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Health & Medicine
Can poliovirus fix spinal cord damage?
Scientists have devised a version of the poliovirus that can deliver genes to motor neurons without harming them, a step toward a gene therapy that reawakens idle neurons in people with spinal cord damage.
By Nathan Seppa -
Health & Medicine
Prevention in a Pill? Baldness drug might avert prostate cancer
The drug finasteride, given to alleviate baldness and prostate problems, might prevent some cases of prostate cancer.
By Nathan Seppa -
Health & Medicine
McDonald’s Cutback in Antibiotics Use Could Reduce Drug-Resistant Bacteria
The fast-food chain McDonald’s announced on June 19 that it will stop its farms under contract from feeding chicken, cattle, and pigs certain antibiotics intended to accelerate the animals’ growth. That step might slow or reverse the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria that can infect people, scientists say. HAPPIER MEAL. Coming soon to a McDonald’s near […]
By Ben Harder -
Health & Medicine
Double Duty: Diabetes drug protects reopened heart vessels
A drug normally prescribed to hold blood sugar in check provides an unexpected benefit to heart patients.
By Nathan Seppa -
Health & Medicine
MRI detects missed breast cancers
Magnetic resonance imaging detects breast cancer better than does mammography and might be preferable for certain women at high risk.
By Nathan Seppa -
Health & Medicine
Cancer vaccine gets first test in patients
The first clinical test of a cancer vaccine that targets a protein called carcinoembryonic antigen shows promise.
By Nathan Seppa -
Health & Medicine
Early cancer therapy and heart problems
Pediatric cancer treatment with chest radiation or anthracyclines can cause a heightened risk of heart disease at an earlier age than previously believed.
By Nathan Seppa -
Health & Medicine
Gene profiles might guide chemotherapy
Profiles of genetic variations in cancer patients could help oncologists predict the outcome of chemotherapy.
By Nathan Seppa -
Health & Medicine
Target: Celiac Disease
With the aim of releasing people with celiac disease from a strict, lifelong diet that lacks the wheat protein gluten, researchers are working to identify molecular targets that could block the disease’s hallmark, the degeneration of the lining of the small intestine.
By Ben Harder -
Health & Medicine
Do zinc lozenges shorten common colds?
People taking zinc to fight a cold report less coughing, less nasal discharge, and a shorter cold than do people getting a placebo.
By Nathan Seppa -
Health & Medicine
Coffee linked to rheumatoid arthritis
People who drink four or more cups of coffee per day appear more likely to get rheumatoid arthritis than are those drinking less.
By Nathan Seppa -
Health & Medicine
Data faked in immune-system study
A researcher fabricated evidence suggesting that never-before-seen RNA-DNA-hybrid molecules play a role in creating antibodies.
By John Travis