Nathan Seppa

Biomedical Writer (retired September 2015)

All Stories by Nathan Seppa

  1. Health & Medicine

    Risk profile for diabetes

    People who harbor excess amounts of the compound fetuin-A face a heightened risk of developing diabetes.

  2. Health & Medicine

    Cancer and college

    Highly educated people have reaped the benefits of cancer prevention and treatment. Death rates in this group have fallen, but people with less education have missed out on these gains.

  3. Health & Medicine

    Surviving HIV

    Since the development in the mid-1990s of a state-of-the-art drug cocktail for HIV, patient survival has extended dramatically, a new study shows.

  4. Health & Medicine

    Vessel rescue

    A blood pressure medication limits damage to the aorta in people with Marfan syndrome, possibly signaling a new therapy for the condition.

  5. Health & Medicine

    Heel test

    A simple, inexpensive ultrasound test of the heel might reveal whether a person is at risk of osteoporosis and should get more extensive tests.

  6. Health & Medicine

    Wishful thinking

    Male athletes who think they are getting growth hormone claim to feel better and score higher in a jumping test while on a placebo.

  7. Health & Medicine

    Girl athletes’ energy crisis

    Lack of regular periods in teenage female athletes stems from a hormone imbalance arising from inadequate energy intake.

  8. Life

    Wine find

    Cell tests suggest that resveratrol, the substance that seems to account for the healthful effects of red wine, might have antiobesity effects, too.

  9. Health & Medicine

    Keep at it

    Moderate exercise can extend survival for overweight and obese men who have diabetes.

  10. Health & Medicine

    Parasite payback

    The protozoan parasite that causes leishmaniasis seems vulnerable to the anticancer drug tamoxifen, research in mice shows.

  11. Health & Medicine

    Sun up

    Men with lower concentrations of vitamin D have higher risk of heart attack.

  12. Health & Medicine

    Brain trauma

    Cooling the body temperature of a child who has severe brain injury doesn’t seem to help recovery, but the jury is still out.