Health & Medicine
- Health & Medicine
Killing immune cells thwarts arthritis
Researchers have successfully treated people with rheumatoid arthritis by temporarily wiping out most of their antibody-producing immune cells.
By John Travis - Health & Medicine
Prostate enzyme triggers cancer drug
A new drug reverses advanced prostate cancer in mice by enlisting the aid of prostate-specific antigen, an enzyme found in most prostate tumors.
By Nathan Seppa - Health & Medicine
Zapping Wayward Cells: Therapy sheds light on transplant complication
Ultraviolet light can curb graft-versus-host disease, a common complication of bone marrow transplants, a study of mice shows.
By Nathan Seppa - Health & Medicine
Gene ups oral-cancer risk for drinkers who smoke
People who have a particular variant of a single gene are at a disproportionate risk of oral cancer if they both smoke and drink.
By Ben Harder - Health & Medicine
Fetal cells pop up in mom’s thyroid
A woman's thyroid gland contains male cells, suggesting that cells from her son passed into her when he was a fetus.
By John Travis - Health & Medicine
Gene helps alcohol help the heart
A genetic study indicates that moderate consumption of alcohol helps keep the heart healthy.
By John Travis - Health & Medicine
Pill boosts cancer risk in some women
Women who took oral contraceptives before 1975, and whose mother or sister had breast cancer between 1944 and 1952, have triple the likelihood of getting breast cancer as compared with similar women who didn't take the pill.
By Nathan Seppa - Health & Medicine
Interferon delays multiple sclerosis
In some people who show early-warning signs of multiple sclerosis, the drug interferon-beta-1a seems to delay or even prevent the disease from becoming full-blown.
By Nathan Seppa - Health & Medicine
Study bolsters head injury, Alzheimer’s link
Veterans who suffered a moderate or severe concussion during World War II face a heightened risk of Alzheimer's disease when they reach old age.
By Nathan Seppa - Health & Medicine
When It’s No Longer Baby Fat
Increasingly, children are plump by the time they enter school, and they get fatter as they grow.
By Janet Raloff - Health & Medicine
Categorizing Cancers: Gene activity predicts leukemia outcome
By dividing acute myeloid leukemia into subtypes on the basis of which genes are abnormally active in a given patient, doctors may be able to predict outcomes and make better treatment decisions.
By Ben Harder - Health & Medicine
Slimmer Ticks, Less Disease: Tick-semen protein is potential vaccine
An antitick vaccine using a protein that causes female ticks to engorge on blood may control tick populations, a new study suggests.