Health & Medicine

  1. Health & Medicine

    Nicotine metabolism shows ethnic bias

    A comparison of Latino, white, and Chinese-American smokers suggests that people of East Asian descent are apt to clear nicotine from their blood more gradually than the other smokers do, thereby staving off a craving for the next cigarette.

    By Nathan Seppa
  2. Health & Medicine

    Gene Variant Tied to Human Aging

    Variants of a gene linked to mouse aging are more prevalent in elderly people than in newborns, suggesting that the gene influences human aging or specific age-related illnesses.

    By John Travis
  3. Health & Medicine

    Cloning’s ups and downs

    Dolly, the world's first cloned mammal, has developed arthritis, and two biotech firms have turned to cloning in their attempt to create pigs with organs that human bodies won't reject when transplanted.

    By John Travis
  4. Health & Medicine

    Cancer fighter reveals a dark side

    Overactivity of a tumor-suppressing gene shortens the lifespan of mice.

    By John Travis
  5. Health & Medicine

    Viruses stop antibiotic-resistant bacteria

    Bacteriophages, viruses that destroy bacteria, can protect mice from bacteria that are impervious to antibiotics.

    By John Travis
  6. Health & Medicine

    Genes make potential target in lymph cancer

    Scientists looking for DNA variations in a cancer called diffuse large B-cell lymphoma have found that excess activity in certain genes may indicate whether the disease will be fatal.

    By Nathan Seppa
  7. Health & Medicine

    Rwandan patients show unusual HIV

    Blood tests on people in Rwanda who have had HIV infections for years without symptoms of AIDS indicate that the viruses in these patients have rare mutations.

    By Nathan Seppa
  8. Health & Medicine

    Will new approach cure Chagas disease?

    Scientists may be able to disable the parasite that causes Chagas disease by targeting the enzyme it uses to make essential fats.

    By Nathan Seppa
  9. Health & Medicine

    Suppressive drug therapy hinders herpes

    A daily regimen of the antiviral drug valacyclovir controls genital herpes vastly better than does the same medication when used only to treat outbreaks of the disease.

    By Nathan Seppa
  10. Health & Medicine

    Ominous drug-resistance hints appear

    The first signs of partial resistance to an important class of drugs called quinolones have appeared in Haemophilus influenzae, a bacterium that can cause pneumonia and meningitis.

    By Nathan Seppa
  11. Health & Medicine

    Garlic interferes with HIV drug

    Garlic supplements interact negatively with a protease inhibitor medication taken by people infected with HIV.

    By Ben Harder
  12. Health & Medicine

    A glass of red may keep arteries loose

    A newly uncovered effect of a compound abundant in red wines may provide the mechanism needed to explain how reds could outperform whites and rosés in reducing heart disease.

    By Ben Harder