‘An evil I’ve never seen before’: Doctors scramble to understand vaping-related lung disease
Thousands of people are experiencing severe pulmonary issues from vaping, and some are dying.
16 November, 2019
Image source: Aliaksandr Barouski/Shutterstock
- Scientists now believe that the primary culprit in this health crisis is vitamin E acetate, though research continues for other toxic factors.
- Vitamin E is a gooey thickener often used in black-market cannabis-based vaping products.
- Vapers who feel like they may have pneumonia should consult a physician immediately.
Keep reading
Show less
A new study says it's okay to eat red meat. An immediate uproar follows.
Even before publication, health agencies were asking the journal not to publish the research.
01 October, 2019
- A new study in the Annals of Internal Medicine found little correlation between red meat consumption and health problems.
- A number of organizations immediately contested the evidence, claiming it to be based on an irrelevant system of analysis.
- Beef and dairy production is one of the leading drivers of climate change, forcing humans to weigh personal health against the environment.
Keep reading
Show less
New blood test accurately predicts when people will die — within 5–10 years
The large-scale study got it right for 83 percent of participants. Would you take the blood test?
09 September, 2019
Photo credit: Miguel Bruna on Unsplash
- A research team found 14 biomarkers can accurately predict death within 5–10 years.
- Such a test could help doctors and researchers prescribe better courses of treatments for patients.
- Information about mortality might inspire people to eat better and exercise more, thus reversing the effects of some biomarkers.
Keep reading
Show less
What makes prions the 'zombie protein'?
How can a misfolded protein be behind some of the strangest and deadliest diseases out there?
11 June, 2019
Flickr user NIAID
- Prions don't sound so bad at first blush: they're simply proteins that have the wrong shape.
- They may sound innocuous, but "catching" prions is always fatal, and there is no cure.
- Curiously, the most famous case of a prion disease outbreak happened in a cannibalistic tribe in Papua New Guinea.
Keep reading
Show less
New study reveals that reincarnation is real — kind of
Nematodes demonstrate that neurons can influence offspring's genetics.
10 June, 2019
Photo by Jeremy Horner/LightRocket via Getty Images
- Caenorhabditis elegans nematodes can transmit information about the environment through neurons to future generations.
- Research from Tel Aviv University pushes back against the "second law of biology," which states that heritable information is segregated from somatic influences.
- If applicable to humans, this research could have important uses in medicine.
Keep reading
Show less