‘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.

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  • 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.
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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.

  • 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.
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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?

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  • 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.
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What makes prions the 'zombie protein'?

How can a misfolded protein be behind some of the strangest and deadliest diseases out there?

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  • 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.
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epidemiology genetics illness medical research microbiology public health disease

New study reveals that reincarnation is real — kind of

Nematodes demonstrate that neurons can influence offspring's genetics.

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  • 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.
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epidemiology evolution biology cognitive science health genetics