Health & Medicine
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Health & Medicine
Mind Numbing: Anesthesia in baby rats stunts brain development
General anesthetic drugs commonly used in pediatric surgery, when given to baby rats, trigger brain cells to commit a cellular form of suicide that leads to lasting memory and learning deficits.
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Health & Medicine
Exonerated? Foods’ acrylamide risks appear low
A new study downplays the likelihood that people will develop cancer from eating foods naturally tainted with acrylamide, a building block of many plastics and an animal carcinogen.
By Janet Raloff -
Health & Medicine
Dietary Dilemmas
Low-carbohydrate diets, such as the Atkins diet, could be more effective for weight loss than low-fat diets are.
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Health & Medicine
Stress-prone? Altering the diet may help
Tailoring a diet to fuel the brain with the precursor of a mood-enhancing chemical may help vulnerable individuals cope with stress.
By Janet Raloff -
Health & Medicine
DNA vaccine for measles shows promise
A measles vaccine consisting of just a couple of DNA strands proves effective in monkeys, possibly presenting an alternative or complementary vaccine for the standard immunization now used worldwide.
By Nathan Seppa -
Health & Medicine
Diet Tip—Close Your Eyes
How many times has your resolve to eat prudently been sabotaged by the sight of a buffet table, Mom’s Thanksgiving specialties, or pastries on the dessert cart? Just because a plate is full of food doesn’t mean one has to finish it all. For many of us, new data show, listening to the way our […]
By Janet Raloff -
Health & Medicine
Rackets and Radicals: Noise may cause gene damage in heart
Exposure to loud, continuous sound can scatter free radicals within heart tissue and cause injury to cells' DNA even after the din subsides, new animal research suggests.
By Ben Harder -
Health & Medicine
Dietary Inflation
“Finish what’s on your plate!” Thus has a multitude of well-intentioned moms exhorted millions of children, in an attempt to ensure good nutrition. Unfortunately, dieticians now find, too many grownups still feel compelled to empty their plates–even when those plates contain substantially more calories than our bodies need. Add to that the fact that modern […]
By Janet Raloff -
Health & Medicine
As population ages, flu takes deadly turn
The annual U.S. toll of influenza has risen dramatically since the late 1970s, in part because of the advancing age of the population.
By Ben Harder -
Health & Medicine
Clot promoter cuts surgical bleeding
A clot-promoting protein known as recombinant activated factor VII might offer a new way to staunch demand for blood transfusions.
By Ben Harder -
Health & Medicine
Lifestyle can prevent diabetes…maybe
Losing weight and exercising more can help ward off diabetes—but other research suggests that it's hard to get people to make such lifestyle changes.