Health & Medicine

  1. Health & Medicine

    HIV sexual spread exploits immune sentinels

    The virus that causes AIDS latches onto a protein called DC-SIGN to hitch a ride on immune cells in mucus membranes and spread through the body.

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  2. Health & Medicine

    Cell transplants combat diabetes in mice

    Scientists have successfully reversed diabetes in mice by harvesting immature pancreatic cells that make insulin from one mouse, growing them in culture, and transplanting them into a mouse with the disease, which then recedes.

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  3. Health & Medicine

    Smoking Gun? Mouse tests link nicotine to crib death

    Nicotine may impair a molecule that's necessary for arousing people and other animals from sleep, an effect that could account for the heightened risk of sudden infant death syndrome in babies born to women who smoked during pregnancy.

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  4. Health & Medicine

    Targeted Therapies

    Tailoring prescriptions based on a person's genes may help reduce side effects and allow the development of more personalized medicine.

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  5. Health & Medicine

    Protein flags colon, prostate cancers

    A compound first identified as a possible culprit in Huntington's disease may be an indicator of cancers of the prostate gland and colon.

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  6. Health & Medicine

    Antibodies fight Ebola virus in mouse test

    Specially designed antibodies can thwart Ebola virus in mice by binding to a glycoprotein on the surface of virus-infected cells, suggesting a potential treatment for the lethal disease.

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  7. Health & Medicine

    Fused cells hold promise of cancer vaccines

    A vaccine composed of tumor cells fused to immune cells has helped several people survive advanced kidney cancer.

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  8. Health & Medicine

    Arctic Sneeze: Greenlanders’ allergies are increasing

    Allergies in Greenland nearly doubled from 1987 to 1998.

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  9. Health & Medicine

    Stroke Stopper: New vaccine curbs blood vessel damage in lab animals

    A vaccine that desensitizes the immune system to a protein inside blood vessels prevents some strokes in laboratory rats.

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  10. Health & Medicine

    Pet exposure may reduce allergies

    Exposing children to cats or dogs at an early age may make them less prone to allergies later in life.

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  11. Health & Medicine

    Missed ZZZ’s, More Disease?

    New evidence suggests that chronic lack of sleep may be as important as poor nutrition and physical inactivity in the development of chronic illnesses such as obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.

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  12. Health & Medicine

    Bacteria offer drug for organ recipients

    Korean investigators have identified a compound that suppresses the immune system of animals.

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