Ben Locwin
Forget about counting steps—Fitbit, other activity trackers won’t help you much to get healthy
Activity trackers may create a false assurance - when people see how much they are walking on a daily basis ...
How human chimeras could revolutionize science and medicine
The NIH appears ready to fund scientists who want to make and study human chimeras. What can we hope to ...
Genetic therapies won’t solve depression anytime soon
Can a better understanding of the genetics of depression lead us to safer, more effective treatments for the disease? ...
New drug approved for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, as mystery disease causes come into focus
Viruses and our human genes tend to co-mingle and cause structural and functional changes--is that what's causing Chronic Fatigue Syndrome? ...
Epigenetic Zs: Could a bad night’s sleep alter your genes?
Sleep deprivation can not only ruin your day, it may change your DNA ...
Beyond microcephaly: Can Zika virus cause auto-immune disorder Guillain-Barré syndrome?
Much of the discussion about the Zika virus has been about its ability to cause microcephaly. But now evidence has ...
Genes identified that extend life
Is the secret to extending human life span written in our genes? Clues from other organisms suggest it might be ...
Is natural sleep the only kind that counts? Or can we make that artificial, too?
Around the world, people spend billions on sleep. Everyone is looking for a good night's rest. But, amidst all of ...
Link between inflammation and cancer
People with chronic inflammatory conditions may be more susceptible to DNA-induced cell mutations which could contribute to getting cancer ...
Scoop on ‘leaky gut syndrome’–And effect of pathogenic gut microbes on health
Do microbes in your gut cause pathologies elsewhere in the body like the heart? ...
Why is your memory so bad when you’re hungry?
Why is it so hard to think while you're hungry? Researchers now believe it may come down to one protein ...
If you’re indifferent about reading this article, it may be genetic
Being apathetic may feel like following the path of least resistance. But studies of apathy in the brain show otherwise ...
Meditation, mindfulness may affect way your genes behave
Mindfulness has shown efficacy in treating some conditions, which has lead researchers to look for a biological mechanism. One theory ...
Ultrasound may help cancer drugs penetrate blood-brain barrier
The blood-brain barrier serves as a major obstacle for treating brain cancers, but several groups are having success forcing the ...
Genes illuminate how the brain ‘thinks’
Monitoring brain functions can tell us a lot about neurobiological structures and what's going on. But now we have the ...
Gene therapy is doing all that we’d hoped for* *(so far)
New gene therapies are showing evidence of advancing our treatment of genetic diseases. Scientists are 5 years along the 15 ...
Drug reverses aging — in rats. Could it help humans?
An allergy drug shows promising results in retarding or reversing aging in rodents. What are next steps to see if ...
Psychological torture of terrorists: Experts followed dubious practices
Criticism of the psychological techniques used to pry information from suspected terrorists and other prisoners has led to a dramatic ...
Designer viruses and precision medicine: New findings for the future of gene therapies
Precision and personalized medicine have at their heart the promise of targeting diseases with specialized therapies specific to certain types ...
Is there a genetic switch that causes ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease)?
We don't know the causes of ALS in most patients, but about 10 percent of cases are thought to be ...
Water: California drought yet water bottles everywhere
Humanity's future depends on how we manage our interactions with water. This takes the form of how we package it, ...
Artificial DNA acts just like the real thing. Does that mean we should we make it?
We know we can create 'artificial DNA'. The real questions are: Should we? and To What end? Should there be ...
Epigenetic ‘eraser’ can reset behavior, disease vulnerability and life experiences
Many epigenetic changes that occur in humans in genetic response to the environment are erased within the embryo. Certain diseases, ...
Can Parkinson’s disease be cured by an injection of fetal cells into the brain?
A new stem cell treatment for Parkinson's diseased highlight the delicate balance of risks vs. rewards. It entail using fetal ...
Forget what you think you know about how memory works
Where do memories come from? How are our experiences recorded, retained and recalled? For quite some time the science of ...
