Health & Medicine
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		Health & MedicineNew drug fights a chronic leukemia
A genetically engineered drug that fuses an antibody to a toxin attacks cancerous cells in hairy-cell leukemia.
By Nathan Seppa - 			
			
		Health & MedicineAntioxidants + heart drugs = bad medicine?
Taking dietary antioxidant supplements along with certain cholesterol-regulating drugs may diminish the effectiveness of those drugs in boosting the so-called good cholesterol.
By Janet Raloff - 			
			
		Health & MedicineInsect-saliva vaccine thwarts parasite
Mice inoculated with a component of sand fly saliva develop immunity to Leishmania, a protozoan that infects hundreds of thousands of people in the tropics each year.
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		Health & MedicineChemotherapy leads to bone loss
In women with early-stage breast cancer, malfunctioning ovaries and significant bone loss can occur within 6 months of chemotherapy treatment.
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		Health & MedicineInflammation linked to diabetes
Women who go on to develop diabetes seem to have signs of widespread, low-level inflammation years before they have symptoms of the disease.
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		Health & MedicineAncient Estrogen
A jawless fish ancestor may have revealed the most ancient of hormones and how current hormones evolved from it.
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		Health & MedicineDrink Those Antioxidants
Mention antioxidants and most people will immediately think of vitamins–typically C and E–usually in the form of mega-dose capsules available at the local drug store. However, a new study finds that many common beverages also deliver a healthy antioxidant serving. R. Savidge These beverages may give some protection against the ravages of oxidizing chemicals that […]
By Janet Raloff - 			
			
		Health & MedicineSurgery for epilepsy outshines medication
People with severe epilepsy who undergo brain surgery have markedly fewer disabling seizures during the following year than do those relying on medication.
By Nathan Seppa - 			
			
		Health & MedicineBusting the Gut Busters
Scientists are uncovering a cache of specialized weaponry used by bacteria that can spear holes in the intestine, perforate it, force it to change shape, and then spew toxins that attack other organs.
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		Health & MedicineSynthetic protein may yield malaria vaccine
A molecule patterned after part of the parasite that causes most severe malaria induces a strong immune response in people.
By Nathan Seppa - 			
			
		Health & MedicineFighting Herself
Autoimmune diseases are more common in women than in men, and researchers are beginning to tease out the cellular mechanisms that may be responsible for this phenomenon.
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		Health & MedicineHerpes virus homes in on cancer target
Herpes simplex virus 1 has an affinity for cells with a mutation that marks many tumors, indicating how the virus may be refined as a cancer therapy and that certain new drugs might attack herpes itself.