Health & Medicine

  1. Health & Medicine

    Can probiotics actually curb sugar cravings?

    Some companies claim that taking beneficial bacteria can reduce the desire for sugar. But the evidence comes from mice, not people.

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  2. Life

    A new book chronicles the science of life in the air 

    Carl Zimmer’s Air-Borne recounts centuries of aerobiology’s greatest moments and mistakes.

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  3. Health & Medicine

    Hear patients with brain implants describe what it feels like

    In the third episode of The Deep End, Jon shares how DBS surgery went and how he and other volunteers felt in the days and weeks afterward.

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  4. Health & Medicine

    ‘It felt like dread.’ Hear what severe depression can do to people

    In the second episode of The Deep End, listeners hear what it’s like to live with severe depression and the backstory of an experimental treatment.

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  5. Health & Medicine

    NIH research grant cuts could deal a biting blow to crucial support staff

    The funding agency aims to cap “indirect costs” in biomedical research grants. But this behind-the-scenes work is crucial to making research happen.

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  6. Health & Medicine

    Why a norovirus vaccine isn’t available — yet

    Norovirus is highly infectious and causing a lot of illness this winter. Several vaccine candidates are making their way through clinical trials.

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  7. Health & Medicine

    A pancreatic cancer blood test called PAC-MANN could spot the disease early 

    The test relies on a magnetic nanoparticle linked to fluorescent molecules to detect pancreatic cancer proteins.

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  8. Health & Medicine

    Ozempic’s key ingredient may reduce the desire to drink alcohol

    In the first clinical trial of its kind, people taking semaglutide drank less alcohol, adding to its promise of fighting addiction.

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  9. Health & Medicine

    A man volunteered to get brain implants for depression. Hear his story

    In the first episode of The Deep End Podcast, we meet Jon Nelson, who shares why he volunteered to get brain implants for his relentless depression.

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  10. Health & Medicine

    A second version of bird flu is infecting cows. What does that mean?

    While the risk to humans of exposure from cows or milk remains low, this new flu spillover from birds into cows raises the need for continued surveillance.

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  11. Health & Medicine

    Sleeping pills may have unexpected effects on the snoozing brain

    As scientists unravel how sleep benefits the body, a study in mice is highlighting the potential pitfalls of using Ambien and other sleep aids.

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  12. Health & Medicine

    Toxic dangers lurk in LA, even in homes that didn’t burn

    Urban wildfires like LA’s make harmful chemicals from burning plastics and electronics that can make indoor air dangerous for months.

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