Health & Medicine

  1. Health & Medicine

    Gene behavior distinguishes viral from bacterial infections

    Researchers have identified signatures of viral infection, a distinction that may help doctors tell whether bacteria or a virus is causing trouble.

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  2. Health & Medicine

    Anatomy of the South Korean MERS outbreak

    The Middle East respiratory syndrome virus, which infected 186 people in South Korea in 2015, quickly spread within and between hospitals via a handful of “superspreaders.”

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  3. Health & Medicine

    Cow bites and spacecraft injuries enliven new medical diagnostic codes

    The 10th edition of International Classification of Diseases went into effect in 2015, and it included some interesting additions.

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  4. Health & Medicine

    To treat the heart, start with the gut

    Preventing gut bacteria from making certain chemical compounds reduced artery clogging in mice, researchers report.

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  5. Science & Society

    Links between scrapie and MS less likely

    Five decades later, scientists still puzzle over what causes multiple sclerosis.

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  6. Life

    In the body, cells move like flocks of birds or schools of fish

    Cells move in groups similarly to flocks of birds and schools of fish

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  7. Neuroscience

    Mini microscope is a window into live muscle tissue

    A tiny microscope offers unprecedented views of live human muscles.

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  8. Life

    Cancer cells get help migrating through the body

    Helper cells may give cancer a straight shot to spread through the body.

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  9. Health & Medicine

    Year in review: Not all bodies act their age

    People grow old at different rates, but the underlying drivers of aging may be the same: molecular havoc wreaked inside of cells, scientists suggested in 2015.

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  10. Neuroscience

    Year in review: Alzheimer’s protein behaves like a prion

    Under rare conditions, an Alzheimer’s-related protein may have jumped between people, scientists reported this year.

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  11. Health & Medicine

    Year in review: Ebola vaccines on the way

    After more than a year of furiously developing and testing potential Ebola vaccines, two candidates have risen to the top and may soon be available for use.

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  12. Genetics

    Liberia’s Ebola outbreak largely traced to one source

    Ebola’s spread and evolution in Liberia echoes patterns seen in Sierra Leone.

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