Ben Locwin
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 ...
Sports and war: When it comes to concussions, not much difference between football and fighting
Recent evidence is surfacing of ‘early aging’ in the brains of troops as a result of experiencing bomb blasts. It ...
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 ...
What makes us take risks? Can viruses affect our thinking ability?
Our body surfaces contain a wide range of microorganisms. The biological effects of these organisms, including on our brain and ...
Why Americans respond to drug placebos more than any other nationality
Remarkably the placebo effect--a fake treatment in which a person taking an inactive substance like sugar, water or saline solution ...
Understanding the Obesity Paradox: Why being overweight may be less concerning than being unfit
Instead of focussing purely on weight, an approach that also considers physical fitness provides the greatest potential to promote health ...
Can GMOs cure cancer? Genetically engineered algae found to kill cancer cells
Scientists have genetically engineered algae, transforming them into targeted drug delivery systems to target cancer. It's worked in the lab ...
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 ...
DNA repair award highlights critical disease research
When DNA has been damaged, repair mechanisms can begin which help to ameliorate the damage ...
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 ...
Donald Trump’s debunked claim linking autism to vaccinations highlights danger of fad hysterias
Will the Republican frontrunner's comments linking vaccines to autism prompt parents to delay vaccinating their children? ...
Should GMO drugs be perceived differently than GMO food?
Many of the same people who express outrage over genetic modification because it 'tinkers with Nature' are silent or supportive ...
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 ...
Worried about eating a bacon burger? That’s orthorexia–Misplaced obsessions of the affluent
It’s become very fashionable to get overly focused and concerned over the food choices we have. Guess what: That's as ...
Unraveling mystery of obsessive-compulsive disorder: A personal journey
This daily ordeal, among other irrational behaviors I suffered, was physically and emotionally exhausting, yet it wouldn't subside until I ...
Circadian desynchrony: Can obesity be treated with electricity?
Could a key factor in the obesity epidemic be attributed to the disruption of our metabolic functions (which are intended ...
Nanotechnology and medicine: Coming of microscopic machines that treat disease
It’s been the stuff of science fiction: Sending miniaturized machines through the human body to repair organs internally, without the ...
Apple juice may help ward off Alzheimer’s disease
Emerging evidence suggests nutrition plays a more critical role in neurodegeneration than originally thought. As little as two glasses of ...
Is obesity rooted in your genes? Not exactly
In what seems to be another piece of evidence in favor of genes being impacted in differential ways over time ...
