Health & Medicine
- Health & Medicine
Gene linked to some smokers’ lung cancer
FGFR1 is amped up in a subset of cancers; inhibiting its proteins can shrink tumors in mice.
By Nathan Seppa - Health & Medicine
Salvia says high
Laboratory researchers show that the psychoactive substance in a popular, largely legal recreational drug causes a short but intense period of hallucination.
- Humans
Apartments share tobacco smoke
Children in nonsmoking families have higher levels of secondhand exposure if they live in multifamily dwellings.
By Janet Raloff - Life
Cells reprogrammed to treat diabetes
The testes may be an alternate source of insulin production.
- Life
Rooting for swarm intelligence in plants
Researchers argue for a type of vegetative group decision making usually associated with humans and social animals, and go out on a limb by also proposing that information may be transmitted electrically.
By Susan Milius - Health & Medicine
A protein’s ebb and flow
Buildup in the brain of a protein linked to Alzheimer's disease may be due to reduced clearance rather than overproduction of the protein.
- Life
Jigsaw genetics
Fragments of a fetus's genome can be pieced together from the mother's blood to allow prenatal diagnosis of genetic diseases.
- Health & Medicine
New blood test may predict some heart risk
People carrying high levels of a protein called cardiac troponin T are more likely to have heart failure or die from cardiovascular problems, two studies show.
By Nathan Seppa - Tech
Terrorist-resistant ‘source’ of moly-99 hits the U.S.
Molybdenum-99 is the radioactive feedstock for the most widely used diagnostic nuclear-medicine isotope. On December 6, the first commercial batch of moly-99 that had been produced using a terrorist-resistant process arrived in the United States from a reactor in South Africa.
By Janet Raloff - Life
Friendly fire blamed in some H1N1 deaths
A poorly targeted immune response to the 2009 pandemic flu virus caused young adults and the middle-aged to suffer more than usual.
- Life
Wealth and ambition
A week in fancier digs inspires rats to seek richer rewards.
By Susan Milius - Humans
Food security wanes as world warms
Global warming may have begun outpacing the ability of farmers to adapt, new studies report.
By Janet Raloff