All Stories by Nathan Seppa
- Health & Medicine
Weight-loss compound may cause arrhythmia
The weight-loss supplement Metabolife 356 causes subtle changes in heartbeat in test subjects.
- Health & Medicine
Greek diet reduces inflammatory proteins
People on a Mediterranean diet rich in olive oil and fresh fruits have lower blood concentrations of several inflammatory proteins linked to atherosclerosis.
- Health & Medicine
Acid blockers stop stomach ulcers, too
People who get ulcers from frequent use of anti-inflammatory painkillers can lessen their risk by simultaneously taking acid-blocking drugs.
- Health & Medicine
Cancer drug might fight Alzheimer’s
Tests in animals show that the cancer drug imatinib mesylate, also called Gleevec, slows formation of the kinds of plaques found in the brains of Alzheimer's patients.
- Health & Medicine
Treatment helps newborns avoid HIV
Giving healthy newborns whose mothers are infected with HIV a combination of anti-HIV drugs shortly after birth makes the infants less likely to contract the virus through breastfeeding.
- Health & Medicine
Centenarian Advantage: Some old folks make cholesterol in big way
People who live to be nearly 100 and their offspring are more likely to have large cholesterol particles in their blood, a condition conducive to good health.
- Health & Medicine
Magnets, my foot!
Shoe inserts with magnets have no more effect against foot pain than insoles without them.
- Humans
Nobel prizes go to scientists harnessing odd phenomena
The 2003 Nobel prizes in the sciences were announced early this week.
- Health & Medicine
Was President Taft cognitively impaired?
President William Howard Taft apparently had sleep apnea, a breathing disorder that could explain his propensity to nod off.
- Health & Medicine
Coronary Fix: Coated inserts keep vessels unclogged
Mesh cylinders called stents, which doctors use to prop open coronary arteries, work better when they are coated with sirolimus, a drug that inhibits the accumulation of cells along the device.
- Health & Medicine
Broken arms way up
Broken arms among adolescents have risen sharply from 30 years ago, possibly because of the popularity of high-risk sports such as skateboarding and a combination of less milk intake and more soft drink consumption.
- Health & Medicine
Early Warning? Spinal fluid may signal Alzheimer’s presence
Spinal-fluid concentrations of two compounds already linked to the disease may reveal whether a person has Alzheimer's disease.
