Health & Medicine
- Health & Medicine
Disabling one protein might one day lead to a cure for the common cold
Scientists have identified a protein in humans that some viruses, including those that cause colds, need to spread.
- Humans
Alcohol-producing bacteria could cause liver disease in some people
A majority of patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease also had gut bacteria churning out medium to high levels of ethanol.
- Health & Medicine
1 in 4 U.S. high school seniors has vaped recently — up 4.5 percentage points from 2018
A 2019 survey finds the number of high school and middle school students who report using e-cigarettes recently continues to grow.
- Humans
Babies born by C-section have more potentially infectious bacteria in their guts
Microbial mixes in babies’ guts differ depending on birth method.
- Health & Medicine
Mucus prevents hand sanitizers from quickly killing the flu
Flu viruses can hold out for minutes against ethanol when encased in wet mucus.
- Health & Medicine
Air pollution can reach the placenta around a developing baby
A small study of women living in Belgium found soot embedded in their placental tissue.
- Health & Medicine
50 years ago, polio was still circulating in the United States
The world has never been closer to eradicating polio, but the disease could come roaring back where vaccination is spotty.
- Tech
A new prosthetic leg that senses touch reduces phantom pain
A prosthetic leg that can sense foot pressure and knee angle helped two men walk faster and reduced phantom leg pain.
- Humans
Supercooling tripled the shelf life of donor livers
Cooling organs to subzero temperatures could help them last longer, making lifesaving transplants available to more people.
- Humans
Vaping is suspected in a fifth death and hundreds of injuries
U.S. health officials can’t yet point to a substance or device that’s behind a rising number of severe lung injuries and deaths tied to e-cigarettes.
- Health & Medicine
Liquid mouth drops could one day protect people from peanut allergies
An immune treatment given as liquid mouth drops helped allergic children eat the equivalent of a few peanuts without having a reaction.
- Health & Medicine
Pancreatic cancer tumors attack the blood vessels that deliver chemo drugs
Pancreatic cancer is nearly impossible to treat, but now we may know why. New research shows that the tumors destroy nearby blood vessels, making it harder for drugs to reach them.
