Nathan Seppa
Biomedical Writer (retired September 2015)
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All Stories by Nathan Seppa
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Health & Medicine
Vaccine Harvest: Cholera fighter could be easy to swallow
An edible vaccine, made by genetically engineering rice, safeguards mice against the toxin produced by cholera bacteria.
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Health & Medicine
Right combination of malaria drugs?
Children in Uganda who contract malaria recover faster with a drug based on artemisinin, derived from Chinese wormwood, than with a longstanding medical remedy.
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Health & Medicine
Blending In: Dissolvable stents promise to protect arteries
A biodegradable magnesium stent props open clogged blood vessels and then dissolves, circumventing the problems linked to permanent metal stents.
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Health & Medicine
Early Start: Fetuses generate immune response to vaccination
A fetus can manufacture immune cells and antibodies in direct response to vaccine given to the mother during pregnancy.
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Health & Medicine
Circadian Fix: Viagra may lessen effects of jet lag
Sildenafil, the male-impotence drug marketed as Viagra, helps laboratory rodents recovery from circadian disruptions similar to jet lag.
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Health & Medicine
Nail-gun injuries shoot up
Nail-gun injuries among do-it-yourself carpenters have tripled since 1991.
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Health & Medicine
Migraines in men linked to heart attack risk
Men who experience migraine headaches are somewhat more likely to have heart attacks than are other men.
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Health & Medicine
Risk Factor: Throat cancer linked to virus spread by sex
Cancer of the throat and tonsils can arise from infection with a sexually transmitted virus.
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Health & Medicine
More Than Bit Players: Snippets of RNA might sway pancreatic cancer
Small pieces of genetic material called microRNA might provide a preview of pancreatic cancer's aggressiveness and offer targets for combating the usually deadly disease.
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Health & Medicine
Inherited Burden? Early menarche in moms tied to obesity in kids
Women who reach puberty at an early age are more likely to have children who are overweight.
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Health & Medicine
No heart risk from hormones taken near menopause
Contrary to some earlier indications, hormone replacement therapy might not impart heart risks to women who take it during their 50s.
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Uncommon cancer gets start in muscle cells
Synovial sarcoma, a cancer thought to arise from joint tissue, actually forms in nascent muscle cells, a mouse study shows.