Health & Medicine
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Health & MedicineEphedra Finale
Last week, Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson announced that the Food and Drug Administration would soon outlaw U.S. sales of diet products containing stimulants derived from the Ephedra sinica plant. He timed the pronouncement to anticipate the start of the perennial diet season: New Year’s Day. Ephedra plant. Univ. of Calif., Davis […]
By Janet Raloff -
Health & MedicineSARS vaccine triggers immunity in monkeys
An experimental vaccine against the SARS virus shows promise in a test on monkeys.
By Nathan Seppa -
Health & MedicinePutting Labels on Nutrients
After all the holiday partying, it’s probably time for most people to get back in the habit of checking the labels on food. Which frozen desert has less fat per serving? Which cereal has the recommended amounts of iron and folic acid? FDA But do those nutrition fact boxes on packaged foods supply the information […]
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Health & MedicinePivotal Protein: Inhibiting immune compound slows sepsis
By restraining the action of an immune system protein that can run amok, scientists experimenting on mice have reversed the course of severe sepsis.
By Nathan Seppa -
Health & MedicineProtein found central to ecstasy fever
Scientists have identified a protein contributing to the high fevers that are sometimes generated by the drug ecstasy.
By John Travis -
Health & MedicineCold Comfort . . . Not!
No doubt about it: We’re in the throes of cold and flu season. Sniffles, coughs, sneezes, headaches, scratchy throats, loss of appetite, stuffy heads, and occasional vomiting can leave us feeling wretched for days to weeks on end. The youngest sufferers are especially miserable. Echinacea purpurea, a species of the purple coneflower, is the main […]
By Janet Raloff -
Health & MedicineCardiac Connection: Lupus patients exhibit signs of heart disease
Lupus patients have more signs of atherosclerosis than do healthy people, suggesting that the inflammation that causes many lupus symptoms also damages blood vessels.
By Nathan Seppa -
Health & MedicineCardiac Connection: Lupus patients exhibit signs of heart disease
Lupus patients have more signs of atherosclerosis than do healthy people, suggesting that the inflammation that causes many lupus symptoms also damages blood vessels.
By Nathan Seppa -
Health & MedicineHard mattresses not best for back pain
People sleeping on medium-firm mattresses report less pain than those sleeping on firm mattresses, contradicting a long-held belief that harder is better.
By Nathan Seppa -
Health & MedicineHard mattresses not best for back pain
People sleeping on medium-firm mattresses report less pain than those sleeping on firm mattresses, contradicting a long-held belief that harder is better.
By Nathan Seppa -
Health & MedicineRisk Profile: C-reactive protein may presage hypertension
High concentrations of the inflammatory compound C-reactive protein may signal an elevated risk of high blood pressure.
By Nathan Seppa -
Health & MedicineNanoparticles hunt down and kill tumors
Gold nanoparticles, injected into mouse tumors and exposed to light, have been found to destroy cancer cells, a treatment approach that may one day offer an alternative to surgery.