Health & Medicine
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Health & MedicineWatermelon red means lycopene rich
Watermelon is a far better source of the carotenoid lycopene than tomatoes are and at least as well absorbed by the body.
By Janet Raloff -
Health & MedicineBugged by Foreign Cuisine
One common experience that tourists encounter while traveling far from home is gut-wrenching diarrhea. In some developing countries, it’s so common that it’s picked up geographic eponyms, like Montezuma’s revenge in Mexico or Delhi belly on the Indian subcontinent. Mexican cuisine typically offers diners tabletop condiments–from spicy chili liquids to diced-veggie salsas and guacamole–to customize […]
By Janet Raloff -
Health & MedicineHis-and-Her Hunger Pangs: Gender affects the brain’s response to food
Men's and women's brains react differently to hunger, as well as to satiation.
By Kristin Cobb -
Health & MedicineSex, smell and appetite
A study of sexual dysfunction in mutated mice may help explain the connection between smell and appetite.
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Health & MedicineHunger hormone gone awry?
People with an inherited form of obesity caused by constant hunger pangs have higher-than-normal blood concentrations of ghrelin, a hormone believed to boost appetite.
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Health & MedicineAppetite-suppressing drug burns fat, too
An experimental drug seems to assail obesity through dual biological actions.
By Ben Harder -
Health & MedicineDiabetes problems aren’t just old news
Children who developed a type of diabetes that normally occurs only in adults suffer kidney failure, miscarriages, and death in their 20s.
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Health & MedicineAutopsies suggest insulin is underused
Autopsy studies indicate that the insulin-producing cells of people with type II diabetes are damaged.
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Health & MedicineCell-Phone Buzz: Contradictory studies heat up radiation question
A new long-term animal study of cell-phone radiation suggests that emissions don't cause cancer, but studies by a second team hint that cell phones may cause damage in other ways.
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Health & MedicineKill or Be Killed: Tumor protein offs patrolling immune cells
Many human cancers may evade surveillance by exploiting a protein normally found on certain immune cells.
By John Travis -
Health & MedicineRewiring Job: Drug spurs nerve growth in stroke-damaged brains
The natural compound inosine spurs nerve reconnection in rats that have suffered the loss of blood to parts of the brain, suggesting inosine might help people recover from a stroke.
By Nathan Seppa -
Health & MedicineSurvivors’ Benefit?
Smallpox outbreaks throughout history may have endowed some people with genetic mutations that make them resistant to the AIDS virus.
By John Travis