Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Health & Medicine
New epilepsy drug is possible
A drug mimicking a natural substance in the brain may offer a new therapy for epilepsy.
- Health & Medicine
Antibiotic now tackles Parkinson’s
A well-known antibiotic may slow the brain-cell death that causes Parkinson's disease.
- Health & Medicine
A spice takes on Alzheimer’s disease
Curcumin, a spice used in yellow curry, may thwart Alzheimer's disease.
- Health & Medicine
Drugs tested for Lou Gehrig’s disease
Two drugs, one for cancer and one for arthritis, may be effective treatments for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
- Health & Medicine
Protein fragment halts type I diabetes
A new protein-based drug injected into people just starting to show signs of diabetes halts the disease.
- Health & Medicine
Human-cloning claim creates controversy
A biotech company has begun cloning human embryos.
- Health & Medicine
Kawasaki patients show coronary calcium
The heart attack risk associated with Kawasaki disease, a childhood inflammatory disease that can cause aneurysms, may stem from calcium build-up in coronary arteries.
- Health & Medicine
Light blow to chest can be fatal
A light blow to the heart can cause cardiac arrest, even when the blow isn't hard enough to cause injury.
- Health & Medicine
Statins, yes; antioxidants, no
Taking cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins improves the health outlook for patients at risk of heart attack even when these patients aren't considered obvious candidates to receive the treatment.
- Health & Medicine
Cuff therapy boosts growth factor
Cuffs that squeeze the legs of heart patients may relieve angina by boosting growth factors, which help build new blood vessels needed to nourish oxygen-starved heart muscle.
- Health & Medicine
Enzyme fighter works as well as tamoxifen
The drug anastrozole generally works as well in fighting advanced breast cancer as better-known tamoxifen, and even surpasses it in certain patients.
- Health & Medicine
Fragile X protein reveals its RNA partners
The master gene behind fragile X syndrome—the most common inherited form of mental retardation—encodes a protein that binds to strands of messenger RNA.
