Health & Medicine

  1. Health & Medicine

    D-fending the Colon: Bile component triggers vitamin D receptor

    The protein that enables cells to respond to vitamin D also helps the gastrointestinal tract protect itself from an especially dangerous acid in bile.

    By John Travis
  2. Health & Medicine

    Wholesome Grains: Insulin effects may explain healthful diet

    Overweight people who eat whole grains rather than refined ones appear better equipped to manage their blood-sugar concentrations with minimal production of the hormone insulin, which could help explain why a diet rich in whole grains appears to guard against type II diabetes and heart disease.

    By Ben Harder
  3. Health & Medicine

    Amyloid Buster? New drug hinders Alzheimer’s protein

    By disabling a dementia-linked protein, a synthetic drug is showing a tantalizing capacity to interfere with the formation of waxy amyloid deposits like those that accumulate in the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease.

    By Nathan Seppa
  4. Health & Medicine

    A Model Mouse

    Mice with symptoms similar to rheumatoid arthritis may illuminate the puzzling disorder.

    By John Travis
  5. Health & Medicine

    Liquid could aid vaccine storage and use

    A new medium for vaccines could remove the need to either refrigerate or rehydrate vaccines, hurdles that impede immunization campaigns in poor countries.

    By Ben Harder
  6. Health & Medicine

    Beating two infections with one vaccine

    Identifying key similarities between related viruses could enable researchers to coax some vaccines to do double duty.

    By Ben Harder
  7. Health & Medicine

    Spice component versus cancer cells

    Curcumin, a compound in the spice turmeric, teams up with an immune-system protein to kill prostate cancer cells in a new laboratory study.

    By Nathan Seppa
  8. Health & Medicine

    A Cold Observation about Wine (with recipe)

    Show this story to your boss, and she might just offer you a glass or two of wine. After all, downing this beverage–especially the red varieties–appears to help ward off the common cold, according to a new study. Though colds usually arent dire, they remain one of the leading causes of missed days at work. […]

    By Janet Raloff
  9. Health & Medicine

    Feel the Burn: Alcohol sets pain-sensing nerves aflame

    Alcohol makes certain pain-generating nerves trigger more easily than normal.

    By John Travis
  10. Health & Medicine

    Hidden Damage: Parkinson’s harm to nerves in heart may explain dizziness and fainting

    Parkinson's disease patients have damaged nerve endings in the heart, kidneys, and thyroid gland, suggesting the disease harms the autonomic nervous system that regulates involuntary functions of these and other organs and glands.

    By Nathan Seppa
  11. Health & Medicine

    Could nicotine patch fight depression?

    Chronic nicotine administration blocked a symptom of depression in an animal model of the disease.

    By Janet Raloff
  12. Health & Medicine

    Fetal stress begets adult hypertension

    Intense stress during pregnancy may program the baby's development in ways that foster high blood pressure during adulthood.

    By Janet Raloff