Health & Medicine
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Health & MedicineCoffee Jitters: Caffeine boosts predictor of heart problems
Whether it comes from coffee or another source, caffeine causes a troubling rise in one biological indicator of heart health.
By Ben Harder -
Health & MedicineGetting the iron out
A new oral drug called ICL670 works as well as an injectable treatment in relieving iron overload in the blood.
By Nathan Seppa -
Health & MedicineProtein vaccine slows leukemia
A cancer vaccine fashioned from a piece of a compound called proteinase-3 shows promise against leukemia.
By Nathan Seppa -
Health & MedicineSea Sickness: Despite cleaner cruises, diarrhea outbreaks persist
Improvements in vessel sanitation have apparently contributed to a gradual decline in diarrheal infections on cruise ships, but standard cleaning practices don't reliably wipe out the viruses that are behind a recent rash of outbreaks.
By Ben Harder -
Health & MedicineSea Sickness: Despite cleaner cruises, diarrhea outbreaks persist
Improvements in vessel sanitation have apparently contributed to a gradual decline in diarrheal infections on cruise ships, but standard cleaning practices don't reliably wipe out the viruses that are behind a recent rash of outbreaks.
By Ben Harder -
Health & MedicineHerpes vaccine progresses
A new vaccine for genital herpes protects some women but not men.
By Nathan Seppa -
Health & MedicineHerpes vaccine progresses
A new vaccine for genital herpes protects some women but not men.
By Nathan Seppa -
Health & MedicineNew tests may catch bicyclers on dope
Two new tests, on blood and urine, detect the presence of synthetic erythropoietin, a drug that boosts red blood cell counts and enhances stamina.
By Nathan Seppa -
Health & MedicineDid colonization spread ulcers?
A comparison of strains of Helicobacter pylori, the bacterium that causes ulcers, suggests that colonists brought it to the New World.
By Nathan Seppa -
Health & MedicineAcrylamide—From Spuds to Gingerbread
Just in time for the holiday season, the Bavarian Ministry of Health reports finding extremely high concentrations of acrylamide—a chemical that causes cancer in rats—in gingerbread. German chemists turned up acrylamide in a favorite holiday treat: gingerbread. Whether baked at home or fried at a restaurant, all hot-potato products cooked up substantial quantitites of acrylamide. […]
By Janet Raloff -
Health & MedicineMale Pill on the Horizon: Drug disables mouse sperm but wears off quickly
A new oral drug created to ease a genetic disorder could have contraceptive benefits.
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Health & MedicineFirst-Line Treatment: Chronic-leukemia drug clears a big hurdle
In its first large-scale test on newly diagnosed leukemia patients, the drug imatinib—also called Gleevec and STI-571—stopped or reversed the disease in nearly all patients receiving it.
By Nathan Seppa