Health & Medicine
Through the study and use of genetics, we can identify measures that could lead to the improvement of human health and wellness. These methods and procedures aim to prevent years of chronic disease and thousands of dollars in health care costs, and provide families and communities with knowledge of how to live healthier.
Below is the complete archive of related articles sorted by date.
CDC: Treatments for imaginary ‘Chronic Lyme Disease’ have claimed lives
The peak public health body in the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), has issued a ...
Virtual reality: Avatars help amputees control their prosthetics
People who have had amputations can control a virtual avatar using their imagination alone, thanks to a system that uses ...
Early to rise: Why so many babies are born at 8 AM
Based on the stories we share, it would be easy to imagine that when a baby is born is random ...
Being forgetful can actually help your brain make better decisions
Most of us think “perfect” memory means never forgetting, but maybe forgetting actually helps us navigate a world that is ...
HIV fix: Can gene editing work alongside the virus to provide a cure?
HIV is no longer a death sentence in much of the developed world. But effective treatment in developing nations needs ...
Can genetically modified viruses stop antibiotic-resistant infections?
Genetically modified viruses that cause bacteria to kill themselves could be the next step in combating antibiotic-resistant infections. Several companies ...
CMV birth defects may be prevented by drug typically used to treat anxiety
An anxiety drug could prevent a common virus from causing birth defects and deafness, a study in newborn mice suggests ...
Opinion: Food Evolution movie gets science right—but that won’t likely convince ‘GMO-averse people’
[Editor's note: Keith Kloor is a freelance writer and adjunct journalism lecturer at New York University.] Unfortunately, there’s no good ...
GMO papaya saved an $11 million industry in Hawaii—and set off a political storm
It started with rotting flesh. ... It was a sign of trouble for hundreds of Hawaiian papaya farmers who, for the next several ...
Spicy foods may speed up bowel movements by triggering taste buds in the gut
Have you ever needed to hurry to the toilet during times of stress or after eating a spicy meal? This ...
Carnivores beware: Meat allergies skyrocketing thanks to lone star tick
In the last decade and a half, thousands of previously protein-loving Americans have developed a dangerous allergy to meat. And ...
‘Food Evolution’ review: Film shows fear of GMOs in rich countries hurts African farmers
The Food Evolution documentary, directed by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Scott Hamilton Kennedy and narrated by pop astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, navigates ...
Poop doping: No, elite athletes can’t improve performance by optimizing gut bacteria
The sports, science and mainstream media have circulated a scientist's claim that optimizing gut bacteria is the secret to elite ...
No longer ‘dead’: Our bones communicate through hormones with brain, other organs
In addition to providing structural support, the skeleton is a versatile conversationalist. Bones make hormones that chat with other organs ...
Cracking cancer: Could treatment lie in harnessing immune system defense mechanism?
For the first time, MIT biologists have now identified a mechanism that the immune system uses to eliminate genetically imbalanced ...
Infographic: Vermont’s twisted GMO labeling logic
Although the prospect for on-product labeling of genetically engineered foods in the United States have dimmed, critics of biotechnology continue ...
Human Project: 10,000 New Yorkers’ health to be tracked over 20 years
If you smoke cigarettes, you’re putting yourself at a heightened risk for heart disease. That correlation is well-known and unchallenged ...
Foodie Michael Pollan and 45 researchers dismiss Food Evolution doc as ‘a piece of propaganda’
[Editor's note: The following is part of a letter signed by 45 academics including University of California-Berkeley professor Michael Pollan, ...
NY Times on Food Evolution movie: ‘In a world desperate for safe, sustainable food, GMOs may well be a force for good’
The scientific method is under siege, and not just from naysayers who dismiss climate change or fear vaccines. G.M.O.s — ...
Infographic: Twisted GMO labeling logic
Although the prospect for on-product labeling of genetically engineered foods in the United States have dimmed, critics of biotechnology continue ...
Despite what you’ve heard, human genome is not completely sequenced
The feat made headlines around the world: “Scientists Say Human Genome is Complete,” the New York Times announced in 2003...There ...
Prostate cancer treatment could get boost from DNA blood test
Scientists have developed a three-in-one blood test that could transform treatment of advanced prostate cancer through use of precision drugs ...
Epileptic mystery: Could micro-genes explain why some people have seizures and others don’t?
Seizures in epilepsy can be caused by genetic factors or they can be triggered by injury. While we know that ...
Sustainable farming debate: Food choice has greater impact on environment than how it’s grown
[Editor's note: Michael Clark is a PhD student in natural resources science and management at the University of Minnesota. David Tilman ...
Opinion: Activists—not biotech companies—responsible for public backlash against GMOs
Biotech companies like Monsanto are often blamed for not doing enough to combat consumer skepticism of GM foods. But anti-GMO ...
Do GM crop regulatory delays, trade disputes threaten global food security?
[Editor's note: Stuart Smyth is a professor in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at the University of Saskatchewan.] Genetically ...
Diseases and behaviors likely the product of thousands of genes with complex interactions
If you told a modern geneticist that a complex trait...was the work of just 15 genes, they’d probably laugh. It’s ...
