Health & Medicine
- Health & Medicine
Tea compound aids dying brain cells
A constituent of green tea rescues brain cells damaged in a way that mimics the effect of Parkinson's disease.
By Janet Raloff - Health & Medicine
Malaria’s sweet spot
The malaria parasite's reliance on a sugar in the gut of mosquitoes may offer a way to block the disease's transmission.
- Health & Medicine
Exhaust fumes might threaten people’s hearts
Nanoparticles in diesel fumes thwart proteins that dissolve blood clots, perhaps increasing the risk of heart attacks.
- Health & Medicine
Fattening Carbs—Some Promote Obesity and Worse
Easily digestible carbohydrates induce obesity and liver disease in a test on rodents.
By Janet Raloff - Health & Medicine
The Breast Solution
Reversing earlier advice, health authorities now say that babies of HIV-positive mothers in poor countries have a better chance of avoiding infection if they feed only on breast milk that's not supplemented with other food.
- Health & Medicine
Warming to a Cold War Herb
Benefiting from decades of research that took place behind the Iron Curtain, Western physicians are discovering Rhodiola rosea, a cold-weather herb that purportedly fights fatigue and boosts energy.
By Brian Vastag - Health & Medicine
Brain Sabotage: Alzheimer’s protein may spawn miniseizures
Amyloid-beta, a protein implicated in Alzheimer's disease, causes misfiring of neurons and minor brain seizures in mice.
By Nathan Seppa - Health & Medicine
Debate Renewed: Diabetes drug ups heart risk
A popular diabetes drug significantly increases the risk of heart failure and heart attack in those who take it.
By Brian Vastag - Health & Medicine
Blood vessel growth factor also does housekeeping
A growth factor that promotes blood vessel development also maintains normal blood vessel health, perhaps explaining the vascular side effects of some cancer drugs.
By Sarah Webb - Health & Medicine
How platelets help cancer spread
A tumor cell protein influences blood platelets in a way that helps a cancer spread through the body.
By Sarah Webb - Health & Medicine
Curry Power
A component of the spice turmeric, the color-giving ingredient in yellow curries, may help prevent and possibly treat Alzheimer's disease.
- Health & Medicine
Aura origins show the way in epilepsy surgery
Epilepsy patients who experience multiple auras before a seizure, usually considered poor candidates for corrective brain surgery, might benefit from by a new brain scan procedure.
By Nathan Seppa