Medicine

Nobody wants to hear they have cancer. And after a cancer diagnosis, good news can be thin on the ground. So it might be a pleasant change to hear that for the most common types of prostate and penile cancer, called adenocarcinomas, scientists have developed a tiny radiotherapeutic implant that …

The willow-leaved justicia (Justicia gendarussa), a medicinal plant found throughout Southeast Asia, contains a potent anti-HIV-1 compound more powerful than the clinically used drug azidothymidine (AZT), according to new research. Zhang et al used the leaves’, stems’, and roots’ extract of the willow-leaved justicia (Justicia gendarussa).Image credit: University of Illinois …

It’s no secret we’re in the midst of a mental health crisis. Whether you attribute this to social-media-induced nausea or a societal trade-off between “purpose and power,” as explored in Yuvai Hariri’s latest offering Homo Deus, it amounts to much the same thing – an explosion in prescription SSRIs, billable …

In a study to examine how effective different varieties of onion are at killing cancer cells, a team of scientists at the University of Guelph has found that not all of them are created equal. According to Murayyan et al, Ontario-grown red onions have the strongest cancer-fighting power. Image credit: …

A new study led by University of Oxford researchers has found that alcohol consumption, even at moderate levels, is associated with increased risk of adverse brain outcomes including hippocampal atrophy — a form of brain damage that affects memory and spatial navigation. The study was published online in the journal …

New research suggests that coffee and herbal tea consumption may protect against liver fibrosis, estimated as the degree of liver stiffness, which is high in extensive scarring of the liver. Alferink et al determined that regular coffee and herbal tea consumption was inversely related with liver stiffness, but not steatosis, …

An anti-heroin vaccine created by scientists from the Scripps Research Institute and Virginia Commonwealth University to block the ‘high’ of heroin, a highly abused opioid, has proven effective in rhesus macaques. This is the first vaccine against an opioid to pass this stage of preclinical testing. The anti-heroin vaccine candidate …

Millions of people have benefited from pacemakers since the first one was implanted in 1958, but the basics facets of the design have remained unchanged. These devices are still battery-operated, with leads running from the device itself to the heart. Now, researchers from Rice University have developed a battery-free pacemaker …

Lamborghini’s expertise in carbon fiber may be just what the doctor ordered. The automaker known for go-fast cars will partner with Houston Methodist Research Institute to create live-better humans. They’ll collaborate on the development of carbon fiber composites that could be used for medical purposes. According to Automobili Lamborghini, the …

The omentum is an important immune organ that serves as a first line of defense against toxins and infection, according to a review paper published online this week in the journal Trends in Immunology. Structure of milky spots in the omentum. (A) schematic of whole omentum in mice; the omentum …