Health

Viagra Could Be a New Way to Fight Malaria

Viagra was famously discovered when researchers testing a high blood pressure drug found it had a curious side effect: erections. The pill may have another unexpected benefit too: A new study in human blood cells finds that Viagra—or drugs like it–could be used to prevent the transmission of malaria. And the world desperately needs new…

Jawbone UP3 Review: A Fitness Fiasco

The UP3 was supposed to be so much better. It was supposed to be fashion-forward. It was supposed to be waterproof. It was supposed to be more intelligent than any other fitness tracker. It isn’t. I spent the last couple weeks trying to like this band, and I just can’t do it. What Is It?…

Ebola Virus in Sierra Leone Mutated at a Normal Rate

Since the Ebola outbreak occurred in West Africa in 2014, researchers have feared that the virus had been able to evolve at a more rapid rate than usual. Now, an analysis of the virus reveals that it mutated at a perfectly normal rate in Sierra Leone, alleviating those fears. A team of Chinese researchers, that…

Popular Exercises To Avoid At All Costs—Unless You Do Them Right

Many popular exercises are performed incorrectly, often by people who probably shouldn’t be attempting them in the first place. This can result in injuries and futility at the gym. We talked to the experts to find out which exercises are the most problematic, and how to do them correctly. Illustration by Tara Jacoby When it…

The US Is Finally Getting Access to a Promising Cancer Drug From Cuba

Tourism isn’t the only industry eager to benefit from the relaxing of the decades-long trade embargo against Cuba. Medical researchers on both of sides of the Straits of Florida now have the chance to collaborate with previously off-limits colleagues. Of particular interest to the U.S. is a Cuban lung cancer drug that took 25 years…

Mike Huckabee Half-Heartedly Defends His Cinnamon Pill Cure For Diabetes

If you’re looking for garbage health advice, there are quite a few people to turn to: Dr. Oz, The Food Babe, and… Mike Huckabee? Yes, presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee has been peddling garbage supplements that are supposed to help cure diabetes. And he was on Face the Nation yesterday where he defended against critics of…

Are We Inadvertently Eating Too Much Arsenic?

Researchers have known for some time that the food and drink we all consume contains arsenic. Should we be concerned? Aren’t we protected by federal regulations? Actually, no – we are not. In the US, as in many countries, the government regulates the concentration of arsenic in drinking water, but does not regulate the concentration…

The Autism Epidemic: Increasing Cases or Just Increasing Diagnoses?

An interesting new study was recently published in the British Medical Journal about the ‘autism epidemic’ we have been experiencing in recent years (1). The Swedish authors of the study used data from children born between 1993 and 2002 to compare time trends in the rates of the autism symptom phenotype (i.e. the symptoms upon…

The Answer to Tackling Superbugs Could Be More Superbugs

Hard-to-kill bacteria or “superbugs” have become a major problem for hospitals. Between 5% and 12% of hospital patients in the EU are thought to acquire an infection during their stay, with many caused by bacteria such as Clostridium difficile (C. diff) that are resistant to antibiotics. In the US, C. diff is the leading cause…

Are Female Condoms Finally Ready For A Second Chance?

Two decades after the “windsock” was nearly laughed off the market, a radical redesign has made the female condom more user-friendly. In a feature for Mosaic, Emily Anthes outlines the device’s history and how training in its use may help give women more choices for preventing pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease. From the article: Technically,…

Gates Foundation Is Opening Six New Centers to Help End Child Mortality

The Gates Foundation has announced that it’s investing $75 million into six new research centers across Africa and south Asia, that will act as a disease surveillance network to help end child mortality in the developing world. Spurred by the recent Ebola epidemic in west Africa, the Gates Foundation is creating these centers in order…

Your Doctor Probably Has A DNR. Here’s Why You Should Consider One, Too.

Most patients receiving end-of-life care want to avoid aggressive attempts to prolong their life, but medical culture and practices often contradict these wishes. Part of the problem is due to confusion surrounding do-not-resuscitate orders. Here’s what patients really need to know about the “no code.” From the time they’re in medical school, doctors are taught…

Insurance Types Make a Difference to Survival, For Brain Tumors at Least

We all know that having health insurance can make it easier for people to a see a doctor, and with access to care, people can stay healthier. But socioeconomic inequalities in the United States affect access to health care, and thus treatment and patient outcomes as well. Under the Affordable Care Act, the federal government…

How Do Testicles Know When To Stop Making More Sperm?

Every time someone ejaculates, it produces millions of sperm. But the average pair of testicles produces billions of sperm cells over an entire lifetime. Why don’t they create all of their sperm in one go? Answer: Because testicles have a complicated process to avoid running out of sperm and endangering future fertility. Top image: Iqbal…

The Buzzkills At The British Medical Journal Want To Ruin Your Weekend

British Public Health Doctor Fiona Sim says it is time that alcoholic beverages be treated the same way as other food items in the EU. Labels on alcohol products should indicate caloric value in addition to other nutritional information. Most adults who drink, she says, are quite unaware of the energy content of their preferred…

9 Bizarre Jobs That Will Redefine Our Lives In The 2050s

The fields of biotechnology and medicine are rapidly evolving, and with them their associated employment opportunities. Here are nine biomedical professions to look for in the coming decades. Art by Tara Jacoby To help me compile this list, I recruited the help of IC/Futures, a collective of futurists at Idea Couture. The group includes Emily…

Scientists Are Trying to Change All Blood Into Type O

If you know anything about blood types, then you know how they add an extra wrinkle to blood donations. Match donor and recipient blood types incorrectly, and you could even kill a patient. That’s why scientists are working on artificiallychanging donated blood into type O, the universal donor. In the simplest terms, blood types refer…

A new study published in BMC Evolutionary Biology shows that lower back pain is more frequent in people whose spines are similar in shape to those of chimpanzees. “[Our] study suggests that the pathological vertebrae of some people may be less well adapted for walking upright,” noted lead researcher Kimberly Plomp. Photo: Hans Hillewaert/CC

Apple Watch Won’t Deliver on Its Promise to Revolutionize Health. Yet.

The Apple Watch officially arrives today, packed with sensors and software to quantify your every footstep. But measured against Apple’s big ambitions for the future of medicine, the Watch is still a rudimentary device. And for Apple to revolutionize health, it needs far more than a bauble-sized computer. Apple recognizes this, of course. That’s why…

Though trial results published in The Lancet show malaria vaccine RTS,S/AS01 to be only partially effective, the intervention is still being hailed as a breakthrough. It’s “a classic example of the glass half full and glass half-empty”, vaccine expert Brian Greenwood, who has been involved in the project for two decades, told The Guardian. Image:…