Nathan Seppa

Biomedical Writer (retired September 2015)

All Stories by Nathan Seppa

  1. Health & Medicine

    Beyond Hearing: Cochlear implants work best when given early

    Children born deaf who receive cochlear implants as toddlers show brain activity that's more normal than that of children getting the implants later in childhood.

  2. Health & Medicine

    New malaria vaccine is off to promising start

    An experimental malaria vaccine has been shown to induce a strong immune response in people.

  3. Health & Medicine

    Rare but Fatal Outcome: Four deaths may trace to abortion pill

    In the past 5 years, four healthy women taking the abortion pill mifepristone have died of toxic shock syndrome.

  4. Health & Medicine

    Natural Ingredients: Method grows vessels from one’s own cells

    Starting with bits of skin, scientists have produced new blood vessels in a laboratory and successfully implanted them into two patients.

  5. Health & Medicine

    Pill eases craving

    An experimental drug called varenicline helps cigarette smokers kick the habit better than bupropion does, the most effective medicine currently on the market.

  6. Health & Medicine

    Endurance cycling tied to lasting heart damage

    Former professional bicyclers have signs of heart problems nearly 4 decades after competing in grueling endurance events.

  7. Health & Medicine

    New drug fights heart failure

    The experimental drug levosimendin, in combination with standard drugs, eases heart failure symptoms better than standard drugs alone do.

  8. Health & Medicine

    Marrow cells boost ailing hearts

    Extracting cells from a heart attack patient's bone marrow and then inserting them into the person's heart via a catheter can improve pumping capacity.

  9. Health & Medicine

    Sleep apnea could signal greater danger

    The nighttime breathing disorder called obstructive sleep apnea might double a person's risk of death or stroke.

  10. Health & Medicine

    Novel Approach: Cancer drug might ease scleroderma

    The chemotherapy drug paclitaxel, when given to mice, shows signs of impeding the skin disease scleroderma.

  11. Health & Medicine

    More Than an Annoyance: Breathlessness could be sign of bigger problems

    People who have dyspnea, the sensation of being frequently out of breath, may have an increased risk of dying from heart problems.

  12. Health & Medicine

    Breath test could detect bad microbe

    Using machines that identify component parts of gases, scientists can now detect markers of a dangerous fungal infection in the lungs of people just by analyzing their breath.