Humans
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Health & Medicine
Good news for people with clotting disorder
Several experimental drugs show promise against the bleeding disorder known as immune thrombocytopenic purpura.
By Nathan Seppa -
Humans
Letters from the January 13, 2007, issue of Science News
Sunny exposition “The Antibiotic Vitamin” (SN: 11/11/06, p. 312) reminds me that in preantibiotic days, tuberculosis patients were put on a fresh-air-and-sunshine regimen. Could the vitamin D so acquired account for the cures this system sometimes produced? Nancy AxfordSacramento, Calif. Researcher John J. Cannell points to TB sanitariums as anecdotal evidence that sunlight fights infections.—J. […]
By Science News -
Health & Medicine
Better Blood: New tool removes agent of brain disease
Scientists have developed a device that filters from blood the mutant proteins that cause the human form of mad cow disease, an advance that may hold promise for increasing the safety of donated blood.
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Health & Medicine
Bad to the Bone: Acid stoppers appear to have a downside
Popular acid-reducing drugs called proton-pump inhibitors may increase the risk of hip fractures in people over 50.
By Nathan Seppa -
Health & Medicine
Drinking During Pregnancy Emerges As a Possible Male-Infertility Factor
Alcohol consumption during pregnancy increases the risk of undescended testicles in boy babies, and it may contribute to later fertility problems even in boys born without the defect.
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Humans
Letters from the January 6, 2007, issue of Science News
Gone with the heat? “Feeling the heat of an extrasolar planet” (SN: 10/28/06, p. 285) made me wonder how long a gas planet is expected to survive when one of its faces is more than 1,000°C. The conventional model of our solar system assumes that gas planets can form and survive only in a cold […]
By Science News -
Humans
When budgeting for quakes, dig deep
If earthquakes that struck the United States since 1900 are any guide, the nation can expect to suffer seismic damages of about $2.5 billion dollars each year in the future.
By Sid Perkins -
Humans
Longer work hours may warm climate
U.S. workers put in more hours than most other workers around the world, and one consequence is dramatically higher energy and environmental costs per employee.
By Janet Raloff -
Health & Medicine
Now This Is Depressing . . .
People who increased their fish consumption to shed a brooding disposition may want to consider alternative strategies.
By Janet Raloff -
Humans
From the December 19 & 26, 1936, issues
CHRISTMAS HOLLY TREES HAVE THEIR FLOWERS TOO Despite the popularity of the familiar red holly berries for Christmas decorations, few of us are familiar with the rare beauty of the holly tree’s flower. The illustration on the front cover of this week’s Science News Letter is one of the superb enlargements in Walter E. Rogers’ […]
By Science News -
Health & Medicine
AIDS Avoidance: More studies find that circumcision deters HIV
Two large trials in Africa find that male circumcision limits HIV infection, which could prompt governments on that continent to promote or subsidize the operation.
By Nathan Seppa -
Humans
Science News of the Year 2006
A review of important scientific achievements reported in Science News during the year 2006.
By Science News