Health & Medicine
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Health & MedicineInsulin pump and computer mated to regulate blood sugar
A test in type 1 diabetes patients suggests that technology exists to create wearable, self-controlled “artificial pancreas.”
By Nathan Seppa -
LifeMutation effects often depend on genetic milieu
Genetic background is at least as important as environment, fruit fly research shows.
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Health & MedicineIntentional weight loss in old age not detrimental, study finds
Among obese group, those who shed pounds as part of diet study were less likely to die during follow-up years.
By Nathan Seppa -
MathHiding patients in plain sight
A new technique could help make medical records available to researchers without compromising privacy.
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Health & MedicineBreast implants may mask early cancer
Breast augmentation is the leading cosmetic surgery in North America, with roughly 400,000 procedures a year in the United States alone. A study now finds some evidence that breast implants may hinder early detection of breast malignancies. The good news: This didn’t affect survival.
By Janet Raloff -
Health & MedicineMapping the fruit fly brain
A new digital atlas could reveal how 100,000 neurons work together.
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Health & MedicineGulf War Syndrome real, Institute of Medicine concludes
U.S. veterans who claim to suffer from Gulf War Syndrome just received powerful new ammunition against arguments that their symptoms are trivial, if not altogether fictional. On April 9, the health arm of the National Academy of Sciences issued a report that concludes military service in the Persian Gulf War has not only been a cause of post-traumatic stress disorder in some veterans but also is "associated with multisymptom illness” – as in Gulf War Syndrome.
By Janet Raloff -
Health & MedicineTraffic’s soot elevates blood pressure
Legions of studies have shown that air pollution can harm the heart and blood vessels. Scientists now have linked airborne concentrations of tiny black-carbon particles — soot — with increasing blood pressure in older men. They also showed that the genes we inherit appear to play a big role in determining our vulnerability to soot’s pressurizing impacts.
By Janet Raloff -
Health & MedicineWalnuts may slow prostate cancer
More news from the American Chemical Society meeting.
By Janet Raloff -
Health & MedicineVaccine works against type 1 diabetes in mouse experiments
Researchers uncover a self-regulating feature of the immune system.
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Health & MedicineLung function still impaired by dust from World Trade Center
Firefighters and emergency medical teams continue to have breathing problems years after the 2001 terrorist attack.
By Nathan Seppa -
LifeEating seaweed may have conferred special digestive powers
Gut microbes in Japanese people may have borrowed genes for breaking down nori from marine bacteria.
By Susan Milius