H5N1: Bird Flu Pandemic May Be Closer than Thought, Study Finds
After a delay of more than six months, a controversial paper describing a virulent, man-made form of bird flu was published in the journal Science on Thursday. The findings suggest that we may be...
View ArticleStudy: Multiple Sclerosis Drug May Not Slow Disease Progression
Interferon beta, the most commonly prescribed drug to treat multiple sclerosis (MS), did not delay progression of the disease in relapsing patients, according to a recent study. The study, published in...
View ArticleGut Bugs: How They Make You Sick or Well
Most of the time, the bacteria that lives in our gut eases digestion and boosts our immunity, but gut bugs can be harmful too. Recent research looks at a potential link between gut bugs and two very...
View ArticleJunk DNA — Not So Useless After All
Junk. Barren. Non-functioning. Dark matter. That’s how scientists had described the 98% of human genome that lies between our 21,000 genes, ever since our DNA was first sequenced about a decade ago....
View ArticleMeningitis Cases Rise in Outbreak Linked to Tainted Steroid Shots
More than two weeks after the first reports emerged of meningitis cases linked to tainted painkiller injections, health officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) say the number...
View ArticleWill My Son Develop Cancer? The Promise (and Pitfalls) of Sequencing...
Can you imagine wanting to know whether your newborn baby will fall victim to Alzheimer’s disease decades down the road? What about cancer or diabetes? Emma Warin can. In August she gave birth to a...
View ArticleTest Your DNA for Diseases — No Doctor Required
When Anne Wojcicki’s son was a baby, she ran a swab across the inside of his cheek, collecting DNA to send to a lab. Last year, when she was pregnant with her daughter, she tested her amniotic cells....
View ArticleCan Chickpeas and Lentils Help Control Diabetes?
They’re a common part of traditional diets in India and Latin America, but in western repasts, legumes or pulses — that’s lentils, dried beans, and chick peas — have generally been a culinary...
View ArticleWhat Your Doctor Isn’t Telling You About Your DNA
The test results were crystal clear, and still the doctors didn’t know what to do. A sick baby whose genome was analyzed at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia turned out to possess a genetic...
View ArticleScientists Discover New Technique To Prevent Certain Inherited Diseases
Passing on genetic mutations for disease is one of the greatest fears among parents-to-be, but a new technique may alleviate some of those worries. Mitochondrial disorders affect about 1 in 10,000...
View ArticleWhat Does Your Birthday Have to Do With Immune Disorders?
The month in which babies are born can affect how their immune systems develop, and even how vulnerable they are to autoimmune diseases. Scientists studying the neurological disorder multiple sclerosis...
View ArticlePromising First Test to Detect Parkinson’s Disease
Often, the first signs of the disease are symptoms such as tremor in the fingers, chin or lip, loss of smell or a more rigid facial expression. Now an encouraging new test may help to diagnose...
View ArticleDeadly Brain Amoeba Found in Louisiana Drinking Water
A deadly brain-infecting amoeba which has already killed two children this year was detected for the first time in a U.S. drinking water supply near New Orleans. The parasite is ordinarily harmless,...
View Article20-Year-Old Woman Dies Looking Like Toddler
Diagnosed with a mysterious condition that prevented her from aging, Brooke Greenberg was old enough to drive but lived her life in a crib. From the moment she was born, Baby Brooke’s parents had...
View ArticleExperts Warn of Antibiotics ‘Crisis’
Antibiotics, the wonder drug of the 20th century, may become irrelevant in the very near future as so-called superbugs develop immunity to medication, a top medical journal warned Monday. “The...
View ArticleCobalt 60 Stolen in Mexico: What You Need to Know
After a two-day hunt, a stolen truck containing the lethal radioactive material cobalt 60 was found in the rural Mexican town of Hueypoxtla. Mexican nuclear safety authorities suspect the carjackers...
View ArticleWhat’s Ailing You? Google Reveals Your Top Symptom Searches of 2013
For the last 13 years, Google has curated our most searched topics. This year’s 13th annual Zeitgeist pulls queries from over 70 countries. We can all admit to some heavy Googling when it comes to...
View ArticleH5N1 Bird Flu Kills First North American Victim
A Canadian who fell ill while traveling home from China has become the first North American to die of the H5N1 avian flu virus, officials said Wednesday. The person, who authorities declined to...
View ArticleThe 5 Jobs Most Likely to Make You Sick
Talk about an occupational hazard: 40 percent of Australian workers may be exposed to chemicals that boost their risk of developing cancer, according to a team of Aussie researchers. Solar radiation,...
View ArticleJack Osbourne’s MS: After the Diagnosis
Jack Osbourne, 26, announced he has multiple sclerosis, an incurable autoimmune disease that attacks the central nervous system. He was diagnosed just two weeks after the birth of his daughter, Pearl...
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