Medicine

A virus can cause illness and even death if you become infected with the wrong one. However, a virus has no malicious intentions; it’s simply a bundle of genetic code programmed to make copies of itself. Researchers have been exploring ways to hijack the functionality of a virus to deliver …

A team of researchers at the Scripps Research Institute has structurally modified vancomycin to make an already-powerful version of the antibiotic even more potent. This digitally-colorized scanning electron microscopic image depicts Enterococcus faecalis. Image credit: Pete Wardell / CDC. The original form of vancomycin is an ideal starting place for …

A new study published in the journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology found that consuming fruit and vegetables may lower the risk of peripheral artery disease. Eating three or more servings of fruit and vegetables per day may lower risk of developing PAD. “Our current study provides important information to …

Consuming moderate amounts of chocolate with high cocoa content was associated with lower risk of being diagnosed with atrial fibrillation — a common and potentially life threatening type of irregular heartbeat — in a study of men and women in Denmark. According to Mostofsky et al, moderate chocolate intake may …

An international team of researchers, led by the University of Surrey, UK, has identified a crucial link between metabolism and osteoarthritis. Phenotypes of osteoarthritis: evidence suggests that patients with osteoarthritis fall into multiple phenotypic subgroups defined on the basis of the main driver of disease, one of which is a …

A team of scientists at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center has identified the cells that directly give rise to hair as well as the mechanism that causes hair to turn gray. The research is published in the journal Genes Development. Layers of the skin. Image credit: M.Komorniczak / …

Even a small scrape or cut could lead to a life-threatening infection before antibiotics, but these compounds have been getting less effective as bacteria evolve to combat the threat. The search for new drugs has been slow, though now there may be a way to modify existing drugs to be …

Deep learning and artificial intelligence are on their way to bringing about a sea change in how we use computers in medicine. Neural networks have the power to work toward solutions using approaches they devise on their own — and it gives them incredible problem-solving capabilities. You can’t exactly plug …

Most of us take for granted how well our brains can relay instructions to our limbs. Doctors and engineers have been trying for years to grant that same surety to those with prosthetic limbs. But interfacing the biological and technological is tricky. There have been some impressive advances in this …

A unique womb-like environment designed by pediatric researchers at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia — which is in an experimental stage using animal models — could transform care for extremely premature babies: after birth, they would be immersed in lab-made amniotic fluid — and kept underwater for weeks. Most previous attempts …