Nathan Seppa

Biomedical Writer (retired September 2015)

All Stories by Nathan Seppa

  1. Health & Medicine

    Chemotherapy baldness thwarted in rats

    Scientists studying rats have now developed a medication that wards off chemotherapy-induced baldness.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. 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.

  6. 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.

  7. 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.

  8. 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.

  9. 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.

  10. 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.

  11. 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.

  12. Health & Medicine

    Surgery beats splints for wrist syndrome

    Surgery proves better than nighttime splints for relieving the pain of carpal tunnel syndrome.