Christen Brownlee

All Stories by Christen Brownlee

  1. Young and Deadly: Cancer shares gene activity with developing lungs

    Genes that are switched on or off in developing mouse lungs have similar activities in human-lung cancers.

  2. Earth

    Fast-food flies ferry foul fauna

    Houseflies buzzing around fast-food restaurants could be spreading antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

  3. Getting Back at Celiac: Enzyme treatment might stem wheat intolerance

    A combination of two enzymes could eventually treat celiac disease, an inherited digestive disorder.

  4. Mammalian ear cells can regenerate

    The cells responsible for hearing in mammals may be capable of regeneration, just as those of birds and other vertebrates are.

  5. Cells in bloodstream don’t refill ovaries

    Contrary to a report published last year, cells that circulate in a female mammal's blood don't seem to restock its egg supplies.

  6. Health & Medicine

    Coffee protects against alcoholic cirrhosis

    A sobering cup of coffee could provide protection against cirrhosis, a liver-scarring disease common in alcoholics.

  7. Nurture Takes the Spotlight

    What a person eats, what chemicals he or she is exposed to, and other features of a person's environment chemically modify chromosomes, thereby changing how genes are ultimately expressed.

  8. Fat Friends: Gut-microbe partners bring in more calories

    The collaborative efforts of two common gut microbes could increase the calories that a person extracts from food and store as fat, a study in mice suggests.

  9. Health & Medicine

    Ancient Wisdom: Chinese extract may yield diabetes treatment

    A plant extract used in traditional Chinese medicine could form the basis for new treatments for type 2 diabetes.

  10. Cooked garlic still kills bacteria

    Cooked garlic can kill bacteria, but less efficiently than raw garlic does.

  11. Health & Medicine

    Can supplements nix kidney stones?

    The majority of commercially available probiotic supplements don't degrade the compound that forms kidney stones.

  12. Health & Medicine

    Dive suits could spread disease

    Divers' wetsuits can harbor bacteria that cause diseases in coral and people.