Nathan Seppa
Biomedical Writer (retired September 2015)
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All Stories by Nathan Seppa
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Health & Medicine
Chemotherapy baldness thwarted in rats
Scientists studying rats have now developed a medication that wards off chemotherapy-induced baldness.
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Health & Medicine
Protein predicts prostate cancer spread
Prostate cancer patients who harbor high concentrations of a protein called thymosine beta-15 in their tumors face an increased risk that the cancer will spread.
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Health & Medicine
Getting melanoma chemotherapy to work
A drug that turns off a gene that blocks the action of chemotherapy in melanoma shows promise against this lethal skin cancer.
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Health & Medicine
High estrogen linked to lung cancer
Estrogen receptors proliferating on tumor cells in women's lungs may account for why women seem more easily affected by the carcinogenic effects of tobacco smoke.
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Health & Medicine
Breast cancer options made clearer
An inexpensive test for two proteins in the blood can indicate whether women with breast cancer that hasn't yet spread to lymph nodes are likely to face such a relapse after surgery.
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Health & Medicine
Into the Tank: Pressurized oxygen is best at countering carbon monoxide exposure
Oxygen treatment for serious carbon monoxide poisoning prevents long-term brain damage best if delivered as pressurized gas.
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Health & Medicine
Silencing the BRCA1 gene spells trouble
Some breast cancer patients without a mutation in the BRCA1 gene nevertheless have an incapacitated gene, silenced by a process called hypermethylation of nearby DNA.
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Health & Medicine
From rabies virus to anti-HIV vaccine
Researchers working with mice are trying to fashion an HIV vaccine by using a weakened rabies virus to bring an HIV glycoprotein to the attention of the immune system.
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Health & Medicine
Tests may better detect prostate cancer
Two novel tests for prostate cancer may help physicians catch this disease earlier and with far fewer false alarms.
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Health & Medicine
Cell mixture attacks pancreas tumors
White blood cells injected into patients with pancreatic tumors incite an immune response that blunts the cancer in some patients and extends survival.
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Health & Medicine
Are varsity athletes prone to ALS?
A survey of patients treated for neurological problems reveals that those with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's disease) are more likely to have been varsity athletes and remained slim all their lives.
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Health & Medicine
Surgery beats splints for wrist syndrome
Surgery proves better than nighttime splints for relieving the pain of carpal tunnel syndrome.