Health & Medicine

  1. Health & Medicine

    Bats may spread new Malaysian virus

    A Nipah virus outbreak in Malaysia may have started when bats spread disease to pigs.

    By Nathan Seppa
  2. Health & Medicine

    A hint at a healthful effect of beer

    Beer consumption seems to boost concentrations of vitamin B6 in blood and coincides with lower concentrations of homocysteine, a risk factor for heart disease.

    By Nathan Seppa
  3. Health & Medicine

    Drug Eases Bone Cancer Pain in Mice

    Pain caused by bone cancer in mice can be alleviated somewhat by osteoprotegerin, a drug being tested for osteoporosis, suggesting a possible new treatment for people with this cancer.

    By Nathan Seppa
  4. Health & Medicine

    Berry promising anticancer prospects

    Cranberry products can retard the growth and spread of breast cancer in rodents.

    By Janet Raloff
  5. Health & Medicine

    A different GI link to colon cancers

    Diets rich in sweets and other quickly digested carbohydrates appear to increase an individual's risk of developing colon cancer.

    By Janet Raloff
  6. Health & Medicine

    Calcium may become a dieter’s best friend

    Enriching the diet with calcium, especially from dairy products, can switch the body's fat cells from storing calories to burning them.

    By Janet Raloff
  7. Health & Medicine

    ‘Bubble’ babies thrive on gene therapy

    Gene therapy to repair mutations that thwart development of essential immune cells has helped three babies to overcome severe combined immunodeficiency, in which a child is born without a functional immune system.

    By Nathan Seppa
  8. Health & Medicine

    Loosen Up

    Bacterial toxin may lead to less painful treatments for diabetes and brain cancer.

    By John Travis
  9. Health & Medicine

    Boning up on calcium shouldn’t be sporadic

    The gains in bone health can quickly disappear when people stop taking extra calcium.

    By Janet Raloff
  10. Health & Medicine

    Breast cancer options made clearer

    An inexpensive test for two proteins in the blood can indicate whether women with breast cancer that hasn't yet spread to lymph nodes are likely to face such a relapse after surgery.

    By Nathan Seppa
  11. Health & Medicine

    High estrogen linked to lung cancer

    Estrogen receptors proliferating on tumor cells in women's lungs may account for why women seem more easily affected by the carcinogenic effects of tobacco smoke.

    By Nathan Seppa
  12. Health & Medicine

    Getting melanoma chemotherapy to work

    A drug that turns off a gene that blocks the action of chemotherapy in melanoma shows promise against this lethal skin cancer.

    By Nathan Seppa