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ScienceHealth
Fecal Transplants Might Help Boost Cancer Treatment, Study Finds
Fecal transplants, already being studied as a treatment for colon infections and type 2 diabetes, may also help the body fight cancer, new U.S. government-funded research suggests. In a small clinical trial, some patients with advanced cancer who received the transplants began responding to treatments that hadn’t worked earlier, which either stabilized or shrunk their … Continued
By Ed Cara -
ScienceHealthCovid-19
More Good Vaccine News: Early Data Suggests AstraZeneca Shot Can Lower Transmission Risk
New research suggests that the covid-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University will not only offer protection against the symptoms of the viral illness but also lower a person’s risk of transmitting the virus to others. Though scientists have been optimistic that this and other covid-19 vaccines would lower transmission risk, the new data … Continued
By Ed Cara -
ScienceHealth
The Second Wave of Covid-19 Vaccines Is Looking Really Promising
The end of the week has brought along a flurry of encouraging news on the second wave of covid-19 vaccines being tested in trials around the world. Recent clinical trial results from the companies Johnson & Johnson and Novavax suggest that both their experimental vaccines are highly effective at preventing serious illness and hospitalization, while … Continued
By Ed Cara -
ScienceHealth
Toothbrushes Might Not Be Covered in Poo After All
If you’ve worried that your toothbrush, being usually in the same room as your toilet, is perpetually covered in microscopic fecal matter, well, here’s some relief. According to a new study, our brushes are full of bacteria found in our mouths, but they’re not full of bacteria from our guts. In other words, our toothbrushes … Continued
By Ed Cara -
ScienceHealth
UCLA Scientists Successfully ‘Jump-Start’ the Brains of People in a Coma-Like State
Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles are continuing to find success using ultrasound to “jump-start” the brains of people stuck in a minimally conscious state. In a report out this month, they detail two patients with chronic and severe brain injuries who experienced improvements in their awareness of the outside world after undergoing the … Continued
By Ed Cara -
ScienceHealth
Doctors Studied People’s Last Moments of Life to Figure Out When Death Begins
New research suggests that doctors are, thankfully, skilled at correctly identifying a person’s time of death—a crucial aspect of ensuring healthy organs for donation. At the same time, the body can sometimes show flitters of cardiac activity even after death has become truly irreversible, according to the study published in the New England of Medicine. … Continued
By Ed Cara -
Earther
America’s First Composting Funeral Home Is Finally Open
Death is inevitable. But Seattle-based company Recompose is giving people a new way to exit this mortal coil: Having their remains laid in a tube of mulch and soil and letting bacteria turn them into compost in a month’s time. After having opened their doors earlier this winter, Recompose is now fully getting to work … Continued
By Ed Cara -
ScienceHealth
Yes, the Anti-Vaxxers Are Coming for the Coronavirus Vaccines
The rollout of covid-19 vaccines in the U.S. is finally starting to pick up steam, but as vaccination becomes more common, the antivax movement is pulling its same old tricks. The latest disturbing trend: blaming the coronavirus vaccine for deaths, illnesses, or injuries without any solid evidence. Antivax organizations are already trying to misrepresent reports … Continued
By Ed Cara -
ScienceHealth
The U.S. Still Has a Big STI Problem
Sexually transmitted infections continue to be a major headache for Americans and their wallets, according to a new report released Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About one in five Americans in the U.S. were thought to carry an STI in 2018, while there were 26 million new cases estimated that same … Continued
By Ed Cara -
ScienceHealth
Moderna Says Its Vaccine Should Work Against UK and South Africa Coronavirus Variants
The covid-19 vaccine developed by Moderna can likely fend off worrying variants of the coronavirus first found in the UK and South Africa, the company announced Monday. Moderna’s preliminary data appears to show that its covid-19 vaccine produces a strong immune response to these variants. However, the company still intends to work on developing a … Continued
By Ed Cara -
ScienceHealthCovid-19
Scientists Now Worried the UK Coronavirus Variant Is Deadlier
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson made an unsettling announcement on Friday about B 1.1.7, the variant of the coronavirus first found in the UK last fall that’s become widespread in the country and elsewhere. According to data newly analyzed by UK scientists, B 1.1.7 is not only more transmissible than earlier strains, but it may … Continued
By Ed Cara -
ScienceHealth
The Winter Covid-19 Peak Is Finally Starting to Slope Downward
For the first time in a long while, there appears to be some hope on the horizon, even as the U.S. official death count flies past 400,000. The winter peak of the pandemic is finally turning downward, as daily new cases and total hospitalizations continue to slowly decline. Unfortunately, we’re still very much in the … Continued
By Ed Cara -
ScienceHealth
Please, Please Don’t Put Hand Sanitizer in Your Eyes
The harms of the covid-19 pandemic go well beyond the illnesses and deaths directly caused by the virus. One particular repercussion, according to a new study out Thursday, has been more kids getting hurt from alcohol-based hand sanitizer ending up in their eyes. The study, published in JAMA Ophthalmology, looked at data from poison control … Continued
By Ed Cara -
ScienceHealth
Personalized Skin Cancer Vaccine Shows Promise in New Trial Results
The future of cancer treatment might involve personalized vaccines meant to manage or even prevent relapses—at least if new research published Thursday continues to pan out. In a small clinical trial, high-risk melanoma patients given such a vaccine were able to create a long term, durable immune response to their cancer, scientists said. They also … Continued
By Ed Cara -
ScienceHealth
Common Back Pain Treatment Doesn’t Actually Work, Study Finds
A common treatment for chronic back pain may not provide much soothing after all. A new review released Wednesday suggests that antidepressants on average provide little to no back pain relief, though they could have a modest benefit for osteoarthritis and sciatica. Chronic pain can be an emotionally draining experience, so antidepressants are sometimes prescribed … Continued
By Ed Cara -
ScienceHealth
Meth-Related Deaths in America Are Skyrocketing
Drug overdose deaths caused by methamphetamine use in the U.S. have increased sharply over the past decade, according to a new government report released Wednesday. Since 2011, the report found, annual rates of methamphetamine overdose deaths have risen across every demographic group in America and are especially high among American Indians and Alaska Natives. The … Continued
By Ed Cara -
ScienceHealth
What Scientists Wish They Knew a Year Ago About the Covid-19 Pandemic
On January 20, 2020, the first known case of covid-19 in the U.S. was reported—a man in his 30s who had traveled back to Washington State from Wuhan, China, where the first cases of the novel viral disease had been discovered in December 2019. Nearly everyone failed to predict the full scale of the devastation … Continued
By Ed Cara -
ScienceHealth
South African Coronavirus Variant May Dodge Existing Immunity in Some People
Experts are becoming increasingly worried that at least some variants of the coronavirus will pose an added challenge to limiting the spread of covid-19 through vaccination. Recent data announced over the weekend suggests a variant first found in South Africa can escape detection from antibodies in some people who had been infected with older versions … Continued
By Ed Cara -
ScienceHealth
Covid-19 Vaccine Stockpile Already Empty When States Were Promised New Shipments
A plan meant to speed up the delivery of covid-19 vaccines to the American public is already facing trouble. On Friday, Oregon governor Kate Brown tweeted that the state won’t be getting additional vaccine shipments as expected next week, because the federal government had shipped out its remaining reserves earlier than advertised. Other states have … Continued
By Ed Cara -
ScienceHealth
New Research Offers Rare Hope for Treating Methamphetamine Use Disorder
A U.S. government-funded study has provided evidence of a hopeful treatment for people struggling with methamphetamine use. People given a combination therapy of medications were more likely to avoid the drug and report improvements to their life than those given standard support and placebo, the study found. The findings are all the more encouraging because … Continued
By Ed Cara