Nathan Seppa

Biomedical Writer (retired September 2015)

All Stories by Nathan Seppa

  1. Humans

    Mice, Magnetism, and Reactions on Solids

    The 2007 Nobel prizes in the sciences recognized research in genetics, materials science, and surface chemistry.

  2. Health & Medicine

    Antibiotic improves recovery from stroke

    An antibiotic called minocycline seems to limit brain damage and disability in stroke patients.

  3. Health & Medicine

    Diabetes precursor may be checked by omega-3 fatty acids

    Omega-3 fatty acids in the diet might fend off diabetes in children prone to the disease.

  4. Health & Medicine

    Fueling a Flu Debate: Do vaccinations save lives among the elderly?

    Flu shots seem to prevent some deaths and limit hospitalizations for pneumonia in elderly people.

  5. Health & Medicine

    Keep Out: Treated mosquito nets limit child deaths

    Mosquito nets treated with insecticides decrease death rates among children in Kenya's malarial zones.

  6. Health & Medicine

    Brain Sabotage: Alzheimer’s protein may spawn miniseizures

    Amyloid-beta, a protein implicated in Alzheimer's disease, causes misfiring of neurons and minor brain seizures in mice.

  7. Perfect pitch isn’t so perfect in many

    Among people with perfect pitch, the most common error seems to be misidentifying G flat as A, the note on which orchestras traditionally tune.

  8. Health & Medicine

    Aura origins show the way in epilepsy surgery

    Epilepsy patients who experience multiple auras before a seizure, usually considered poor candidates for corrective brain surgery, might benefit from by a new brain scan procedure.

  9. Role Change: Mast cells show an anti-inflammatory side

    Cells that cause inflammation in allergic skin reactions to poison ivy also produce a protein that subdues the reaction a few days later.

  10. Health & Medicine

    Bad Bug: Microbe raises stomach cancer risk

    A gene in some strains of the bacterium Helicobacter pylori may greatly increase the risk of stomach cancer.

  11. Health & Medicine

    If You Can Stomach It: Obesity surgery extends life span

    Drastic weight loss achieved through gastric bypass and other stomach surgeries improves long-term survival for very obese people.

  12. Health & Medicine

    Vaccine targets ovarian-cancer cells

    A vaccine for ovarian cancer enables some women who've undergone chemotherapy to stay in remission.