Health & Medicine
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Health & MedicineLethal Emergence: Tracing the rise of dengue fever in the Americas
Using the genetics of viruses, scientists have tracked a virulent form of dengue virus in Latin America back to its roots in India.
By Nathan Seppa -
Health & MedicineSoy Greens—The Coming Health Food?
Soybeans have gained renown for offering a host of health benefits. Not only do diets rich in products made from this legume appear to protect against heart disease and some cancers, but they also help to preserve bones in aging bodies. Yum? Diets augmented with leaves of the soybean plant might help diners control their […]
By Janet Raloff -
Health & MedicineProstate Health
Many men over age 50 rarely sleep through the night. Instead, they find themselves awake and needing to urinate when, as younger men, this rarely happened. The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases offers an excellent resource on the most common cause of frequent and urgent urination in men–benign prostatic hyperplasia, or […]
By Science News -
Health & MedicineCan 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 & MedicinePrevention 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 & MedicineMcDonald’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 & MedicineDouble 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 & MedicineMRI 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 & MedicineCancer 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 & MedicineEarly 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 & MedicineGene profiles might guide chemotherapy
Profiles of genetic variations in cancer patients could help oncologists predict the outcome of chemotherapy.
By Nathan Seppa -
Health & MedicineTarget: 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