Humans
- Health & Medicine
Surgical risk from painkiller may be brief
A new study suggests that patients might safely use painkillers such as ibuprofen up to 24 hours before surgery.
By Ben Harder - Health & Medicine
Understanding Vitamin D Deficiency
Most adults don't get the recommended daily amount of vitamin D, and obesity may be a contributing factor.
By Janet Raloff - Humans
Letters from the April 30, 2005, issue of Science News
Supplemental information Vitamin E Loses Luster: Nutrient tests show disappointing results” (SN: 3/19/05, p. 182) is the fourth time I’ve seen a report that vitamin E may not be appropriate for elderly people at cardiac risk. Detailed statistics are always given, but one fact is always omitted: what type of vitamin E was used in […]
By Science News - Humans
From the April 27, 1935, issue
An artificial lightning bolt, predicting life spans, and a new, nonmagnetic ship.
By Science News - Health & Medicine
Neuron Savers: Gene therapy slows Alzheimer’s disease
Putting extra copies of the gene for a cellular growth factor into the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease appears to slow the degenerative condition.
By Nathan Seppa - Health & Medicine
Zinc boosts kids’ learning
Zinc fortification improved mental skills in children with normal healthy diets, suggesting that the recommended intake for this mineral may need to be raised.
By Janet Raloff - Health & Medicine
When the stomach gets low on acid
A study in mice shows that a shortage of stomach acid can lead to cancer, apparently as a result of bacterial overgrowth and inflammation.
By Nathan Seppa - Health & Medicine
Licorice ingredient ferrets out herpes
A compound in licorice homes in on lab-grown cells infected with a herpes virus and induces them to self-destruct.
By Nathan Seppa - Health & Medicine
Season Affects Cancer-Surgery Survival
Ample vitamin D at the time of lung-cancer surgery dramatically increases the odds that a patient will be alive and cancerfree 5 years later.
By Janet Raloff - Humans
Letters from the April 23, 2005, issue of Science News
The shark as red herring I’m sure you published “A Fishy Therapy,” (SN: 3/5/05, p. 154) in good faith, but I believe that claims for shark cartilage are not made seriously by anyone who studies the role of natural substances in cancer prevention. It was proved ineffective long ago. I think your article does a […]
By Science News - Humans
From the April 20, 1935, issue
Workings of human body portrayed in new exhibit, tapping brain waves to study epilepsy, and the discovery of a new amino acid.
By Science News - Health & Medicine
Fast Start: Sex readily spreads HIV in infection’s first weeks
People with HIV are many times more infectious to their sexual partners in the weeks or months just after they acquire the virus than they are later on, a study in Uganda demonstrates conclusively.
By Ben Harder