Health & Medicine
- Health & Medicine
Skeletal Discovery: Bone cells affect metabolism
A protein made by bone cells has a surprising influence on energy metabolism, and could have a role in treating diabetes.
- Health & Medicine
Serotonin lower in shift workers
Workers who rotate between day and night shifts have less of the brain chemical serotonin than day shift workers do.
By Brian Vastag - Health & Medicine
CT heart scans: Risk climbs as age at screening falls
CT scans are increasingly used to investigate heart blockages, but their X rays can increase cancer risk.
By Janet Raloff - Health & Medicine
Taking a Jab at Cancer
Vaccines that train a person's immune system to kill cancerous cells, when combined with drugs that block tumor defense mechanisms, are starting to show promise.
- Health & Medicine
New Clues: Gene variations may contribute to MS risk
Variants of two genes encoding immune system proteins may confer a higher risk for multiple sclerosis.
By Nathan Seppa - Health & Medicine
Waking Up: Brain stimulator spurs dramatic improvement years after injury
A man who spent 6 years in a minimally conscious state regained the ability to talk, eat, and move after doctors implanted electrodes deep in his brain.
By Brian Vastag - Health & Medicine
A Melon for Dieters and Diabetics
Novel watermelons offer lots of taste but little sugar.
By Janet Raloff - Health & Medicine
TB medication offers pain relief
An antibiotic once used to treat tuberculosis may offer relief from chronic pain.
By Jenny Pegg - Health & Medicine
Statin reduces dementia risk
A popular anticholesterol drug reduces older adults' chances of developing dementia.
By Brian Vastag - Health & Medicine
A Gut Feeling about Coffee
People's gut microbes digest fiber from coffee in a fermentation process, making beneficial compounds.
By Janet Raloff - Health & Medicine
Grim Reap Purr: Nursing home feline senses the end
A nursing home cat in Rhode Island knows when the end is nigh, predicting with uncanny accuracy when residents will die.
By Brian Vastag - Health & Medicine
Good Light: Sun early in life could protect against MS
Childhood exposure to direct sunshine may protect people against developing multiple sclerosis later.
By Nathan Seppa