Humans
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Health & Medicine
Boosting Boron Could Be Healthful
Largely ignored so far, dietary boron may play important roles in preventing diseases such as arthritis and prostate cancer.
By Janet Raloff -
Health & Medicine
Fatty Findings
A recently discovered protein may explain at least part of the molecular mechanisms behind links among obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and even some cancers.
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Health & Medicine
Vitamin E targets dangerous inflammation
People with diabetes face a high risk of heart attack and stroke. One apparent culprit is the chronic, low-grade inflammation that they develop. Megadoses of vitamin E can dramatically reduce that inflammation, a new study finds. Ishwarlal Jialal and Sridevi Devaraj of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas studied 47 men and […]
By Janet Raloff -
Health & Medicine
Immune cells rush to gut in food allergy
In mice, allergic reactions to food coincide with an accumulation of white blood cells called eosinophils in the small intestine.
By Nathan Seppa -
Anthropology
Early Brazilians Unveil African Look
Prehistoric human skulls found in Brazil share some traits with modern Africans, leading a Brazilian scientist to theorize that Africans rather than Asians first arrived in the Americas sometime before 11,000 years ago.
By Bruce Bower -
Health & Medicine
Gene linked to aggressive prostate cancer
A gene that is more active in prostate cancer tumors from African-American men than in tumors from white men may help explain why prostate cancer is both more common and more aggressive in African Americans.
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Health & Medicine
Synthetic enzyme wards off side effects
A synthetic enzyme that lowers blood pressure and causes blood vessels to constrict shows promise for treating skin and kidney cancers that have spread throughout the body.
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Health & Medicine
Gene variant linked to early puberty
A highly active version of a gene for faster testosterone metabolism is also associated with early breast development—by the age of 9.5 years—in girls.
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Health & Medicine
A different GI link to colon cancers
As they head for the stomach from the mouth, the carbohydrates in vegetables, breads, fruits, and candy all begin breaking down into simple sugars. According to some studies, carbs with a low glycemic index (GI)–meaning that they are digested slowly–reduce a persons risk of heart disease and obesity through an as yet unidentified mechanism linked […]
By Janet Raloff -
Health & Medicine
Urine tests can foretell bladder cancers
U.S. and Chinese researchers find that two unconventional urine tests can often predict when a person is developing bladder cancer even before tumors appear.
By Nathan Seppa -
Health & Medicine
Blood Relatives
After decades of research, several companies are about to release the first line of artificial blood products.
By Linda Wang -
Health & Medicine
Breathing on the Edge
Researchers are exploring how both sea-level lowlanders and high-altitude natives cope with low oxygen levels.