Health & Medicine

  1. Health & Medicine

    Neandertal genes in people today may raise risk of severe COVID-19

    People in South Asia and Europe are more likely to carry a genetic heirloom from Neandertals linked to susceptibility to the coronavirus.

    By
  2. Health & Medicine

    50 years ago, an experimental drug hinted at serotonin’s many roles in the brain

     Excerpt from the October 3, 1970 issue of Science News

    By
  3. Health & Medicine

    Defects in early immune responses underlie some severe COVID-19 cases

    Scientists are finding that strong early immune responses to the coronavirus are crucial to protect some people from developing life-threatening symptoms.

    By
  4. Space

    A new moon radiation measurement may help determine health risks to astronauts

    China's lunar lander measured radiation at the moon’s surface, finding the daily dose is 2.6 times as high as inside the International Space Station.

    By
  5. Neuroscience

    Tiny, magnetically controlled robots coax nerve cells to grow connections

    Research using microrobots and nerve cells from rats could point to new treatments for people with nerve injuries.

    By
  6. Health & Medicine

    A Brazilian city devastated by COVID-19 may have reached herd immunity

    Up to half of Manaus was infected at the epidemic’s peak, which slowed further spread of the virus but also led to many deaths, scientists say.

    By
  7. Health & Medicine

    Early immune responses may be why younger people get less sick from COVID-19

    Age-related differences in coronavirus immune defenses hint that a boost in early immune responses from drugs or a vaccine could help protect people.

    By
  8. Health & Medicine

    Antibodies made in the lab show some promise for treating COVID-19

    Preliminary results from two companies hint that the proteins can help COVID-19 patients from needing hospitalization or ventilation.

    By
  9. Health & Medicine

    What will happen when COVID-19 and the flu collide this fall?

    As the Northern Hemisphere braces for a coronavirus-flu double hit, it’s unclear if it’ll be a deadly combo or one virus will squeeze out the other.

    By
  10. Microbes

    50 years ago, scientists were on the trail of a brain-eating amoeba

    In 1970, scientists were studying a brain-eating amoeba that had been implicated in a newfound disease. Today, infections by the parasite are still poorly understood.

    By
  11. Health & Medicine

    Blood donations show that the United States is still nowhere near herd immunity

    Testing donated blood for antibodies to the coronavirus highlights that the vast majority of the United States remains susceptible to infection.

    By
  12. Health & Medicine

    Lung cell images show how intense a coronavirus infection can be

    Microscopic views reveal virus particles coating the hairlike cilia of an airway cell from the lungs.

    By