Health & Medicine
- Health & Medicine
UV radiation, not vitamin D, might limit multiple sclerosis symptoms
The rarity of MS in the tropics may be due to higher ultraviolet light exposure, not necessarily increased vitamin production, new research suggests.
By Nathan Seppa - Health & Medicine
Ingredient of dark roasted coffees may make them easier on the tummy
A compound generated in the roasting process appears to reduce acid production in the stomach.
- Health & Medicine
Experimental blood pressure drug takes natural approach
Dual-action compound tests well in large group of people with mild to moderate hypertension
By Nathan Seppa - Health & Medicine
Vitamin D is a flu fighter
Japanese researchers offer tangible support for that idea that vitamin D deficiency might render people vulnerable to infections. Supplementing school children with the vitamin, they showed, dramatically cut their incidence of seasonal flu.
By Janet Raloff - Life
To catch a thief, follow his filthy hands
Bacteria from a person’s hands may provide a new type of fingerprint.
- Psychology
Soothing start to childhood weight problems
Pacifying infants with food may raise likelihood of later obesity.
By Bruce Bower - Health & Medicine
Cats attracted to ADHD drug, a feline poison
Since 2004, drugs designed for use by people have been the leading source of poisonings among companion animals, according to the national Animal Poison Control Center in Urbana, Ill. And among cats, Adderall – a combination of mixed amphetamine salts used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder – has quickly risen to become one of the most common and dangerous of these pharmaceutical threats.
By Janet Raloff - Health & Medicine
For a lucky few, ‘dioxins’ might be heart healthy
Dioxins and their kin are notorious poisons. They work by turning on what many biologists had long assumed was a vestigial receptor with no natural beneficial role. But it now appears that in a small proportion of people, this receptor may confer heart benefits.
By Janet Raloff - Health & Medicine
Temporary hearing impairment leads to ‘lazy ear’
A rodent study shows that even after ear infections clear up, brain rewiring may cause long-term hearing problems.
- Health & Medicine
First complete look at families’ genes
Comparing the complete genetic material of family members pinpoints genes involved in three rare inherited diseases.
- Health & Medicine
Scientists offer compelling images of Gulf War illness
BLOG: Researchers have just rolled out a host of brain images — various types of magnetic resonance scans and brain-wave measurements — that they say graphically and unambiguously depict Gulf War Syndrome.
By Janet Raloff - Health & Medicine
Cocktails ward off the bulge
A large study has found that middle-aged women who drink moderately gain less weight over the years compared to their teetotaling peers.