Health & Medicine
- Chemistry
Muscle massage may speed healing
Rubbing sore, overworked areas trips anti-inflammatory switches in the tissue that might speed healing and ease pain.
- Health & Medicine
Bird flu leaves tracks in brain
H5N1 infection might make survivors vulnerable to Parkinson’s or other neurological disorders, a study in mice indicates.
- Health & Medicine
Prions more mobile than thought
Scientists coax pathogens from cow and goat to infect engineered mice, suggesting disease agents can readily jump from one species to another.
- Health & Medicine
Social friction tied to inflammation
Negative interactions with others or stressful competition for another’s attention seem to have risky biological effects on an individual.
- Health & Medicine
Turn off, tune in, drop out
Magic mushrooms reduce blood flow to parts of the brain responsible for sense of self.
- Health & Medicine
Mineral quashes deadly bacterial poisons
Manganese supplement might someday help counter a virulent form of E. coli.
- Health & Medicine
Proteins may warn of diabetic kidney disease risk
Patients who have high levels of compounds called TNF receptors in their blood have a heightened risk of developing renal failure, two studies suggest.
- Health & Medicine
Sleep solidifies bad feelings
A night of slumber reinforces not just traumatic memories but the negative emotions that go with them, one study finds.
- Humans
Bush meat can be a viral feast
Monkeys and apes are considered edible game in many parts of Africa. As Africans have emigrated to other parts of the world, some have retained their love of this so-called bushmeat. A new study now finds that even when smoked, meat from nonhuman primates — from chimps to monkeys — can host potentially dangerous viruses. Smuggled imports confiscated at U.S. airports provided the samples tested in this investigation.
- Health & Medicine
Study tracks booze’s buzz in the brain
In both heavy and light drinkers, alcohol causes the release of morphinelike chemicals.
- Health & Medicine
Light pot smoking easy on lungs
Infrequent marijuana users show a slight improvement in breathing capacity and middling smokers had no change, a 20-year study shows.
- Psychology
Europeans’ heartfelt ignorance
Many people in nine countries don't know how to recognize or react to heart attacks and strokes.
