Health & Medicine
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Health & MedicineWaking 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 & MedicineA Melon for Dieters and Diabetics
Novel watermelons offer lots of taste but little sugar.
By Janet Raloff -
Health & MedicineTB medication offers pain relief
An antibiotic once used to treat tuberculosis may offer relief from chronic pain.
By Jenny Pegg -
Health & MedicineStatin reduces dementia risk
A popular anticholesterol drug reduces older adults' chances of developing dementia.
By Brian Vastag -
Health & MedicineA Gut Feeling about Coffee
People's gut microbes digest fiber from coffee in a fermentation process, making beneficial compounds.
By Janet Raloff -
Health & MedicineGrim 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 & MedicineGood 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 -
Health & MedicinePerception is longevity
Mice lived longer when they were fooled into sensing lower insulin levels than they actually had.
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Health & MedicinePhytochemical Beauty
Our Food For Thought column recently published two offerings on health-related findings about genistein, a soybean constituent. Ever wonder what that chemical looks like? Or how about capsaicin—the spicy agent in hot chilies being explored as a painkiller, lycopene—the red pigment in watermelons that may protect our skin against harmful ultraviolet rays, or sulforaphane—a trace […]
By Science News -
Health & MedicineBrain Seasoning: A common spice could deter Alzheimer’s
A compound in the curry spice turmeric restores the ability of immune system cells to destroy plaques linked to Alzheimer's disease.
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Health & MedicinePersistent Prions: Soilbound agents are more potent
Prions, deformed proteins that cause brain-destroying diseases such as chronic wasting disease or mad cow disease, are more infectious when bound to soil particles.
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Health & MedicineAIDS Abated: Genome scans illuminate immune control of HIV
Three genetic variations picked out by powerful whole-genome scans help explain why some people develop AIDS quickly while others keep it at bay.
By Brian Vastag