Health & Medicine
- Health & Medicine
Danes keeping drugs out of livestock
Reducing the amount of antibiotics given to livestock in Denmark has lowered the amount of drug-resistant Enterococcus faecium bacteria in the meat of these animals.
By Nathan Seppa - Health & Medicine
Indian encephalitis is traced to measles
An outbreak of fatal encephalitis in India appears to have been caused by a strange form of rashless measles in a majority of the sick children tested.
By Nathan Seppa - Health & Medicine
New Australian virus infects people
Australian scientists have identified a new virus, apparently spread by fruit bats, that causes birth defects in pigs and severe illness in some people exposed to infected pigs.
By Nathan Seppa - Health & Medicine
Venison can contain E. coli bacteria
Escherichia coli, which causes severe diarrhea in people, may be widespread in deer, a finding that raises concerns about preparation of wild-game meats.
By Nathan Seppa - Health & Medicine
Weight-loss pill carries risks
The drug ephedra and its presumed active ingredient, ephedrine, provide only modest weight-loss effects and pose health risks.
By Nathan Seppa - Health & Medicine
Microbicide thwarts AIDS virus in monkey test
A microbicidal gel applied vaginally prevents some transmission of the AIDS virus in monkeys.
By Nathan Seppa - Health & Medicine
A Make-Time-For-Sex Diet?
We’re slaves to our hormones. Teenagers and pregnant women are experts on that topic. Both ride an emotional roller coaster as their bodies produce vacillating amounts of sex hormones. In fact, behind the scenes of all human biology–from conception to death–a delicate interplay of hormones drives everything from the expression of our gender to regulation […]
By Janet Raloff - Health & Medicine
Progress Against Dementia: Drug slows Alzheimer’s in severely ill patients
The drug memantine slows the progression of late-stage Alzheimer's disease in patients previously considered untreatable.
By Nathan Seppa - Health & Medicine
Another Way Saturated Fats Can Hike Heart Risks
Physicians and health columnists have been exhorting the public for years to pare saturated fats from the diet. Numerous studies have linked heavy consumption of these fats to elevated cholesterol, a major risk factor for heart disease. Now, Johns Hopkins University researchers tie high-saturated-fat diets to a second risk factor for cardiovascular disease: abdominal fat. […]
By Janet Raloff - Health & Medicine
Passive smoking may foster kids’ cavities
Young children exposed to tobacco smoke face a greatly elevated risk of developing cavities in their baby teeth.
By Janet Raloff - Health & Medicine
Prenatal marijuana exposure may pose health risks
Rats that were exposed to a marijuana-related chemical while in the womb show more memory lapses and hyperactivity than unexposed rats do.
By Nathan Seppa - Health & Medicine
The Vaccinia Dilemma
To inform the current debate on who should be vaccinated for smallpox given the possibility of—or in the event of—a bioterrorism attack, researchers are using mathematical models and data from vaccination campaigns and past smallpox outbreaks.
By Ben Harder