Ed Cara

ScienceGenetics

A Study That Linked Shorter Lifespans to CRISPR Baby Mutation Has Been Retracted

An alarming study that added fuel to the fire over a recent controversial genetic experiment in China has now been invalidated. The study, which suggested that a mutation induced by Chinese scientist He Jiankui in human babies could shorten their lives, was retracted late last week, after other scientists failed to find similar results and the … Continued

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Nurses at New Jersey Hospital Fed Patients Benadryl to Avoid Work, Whistleblower Lawsuit Alleges

In an explosive new lawsuit this week, nurses at a New Jersey hospital have been accused by one of their own of drugging patients with the drowsy medication Benadryl to avoid work. The plaintiff, Patricia Moran, is suing her employer, the Monmouth Medical Center, for having allegedly punished her after she spoke out about the … Continued

ScienceHealth

Viagra Might Someday Enhance Bone Marrow Transplants

The long story of sildenafil citrate, best known by the brand name Viagra, may have another chapter to it. Researchers at the University of California Santa Cruz think the drug can improve how we perform bone marrow transplants, as part of a combination therapy that allows doctors to harvest stem cells from patients quicker and … Continued

ScienceGenetics

Over 150,000 Americans Have Rare DNA Fluke and Don’t Know It, Study of 23andMe Data Finds

A supposedly rare genetic quirk might be more common than we think, according to new research out Thursday. The study, based largely on 23andMe data, suggests that one in every 2,000 people are born with two copies of a gene from only a single parent, often with no serious health consequences. Ordinarily, a person’s egg … Continued

ScienceHealth

Scientists Invent LED Device to Quickly Treat Carbon Monoxide Poisoning, Though It’s Not Ready for Humans Yet

Doctors at Harvard think they’ve found a new way to stop a silent killer by literally shining a light on it. In experiments with rats, their light-based device was able to quickly clear away carbon monoxide stuck to blood cells. The nifty invention may someday help doctors and EMTs treat life-threatening cases of carbon monoxide … Continued

ScienceHealth

STDs in America Hit Another Record High in 2018

It’s been a banner half-decade for sexually transmitted diseases in the U.S., according to a new report out Tuesday from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2018 saw yet another record high for STDs in the country, with reported cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis climbing for the fifth straight year. The report’s findings, … Continued

ScienceHealth

E-Cigarette Vapor Linked to Lung Cancer in Mice

A new study out Monday is yet more evidence that vaping isn’t the completely safe alternative to smoking it was once thought to be. The researchers claim to have found evidence, in mice, that e-cigarette vapor is capable of causing certain kinds of cancer. But there’s still a long way to go before we can … Continued

ScienceHealth

2019 Nobel Prize in Medicine Goes to Researchers Who Unraveled How Cells Sense Oxygen

A trio of researchers from the U.S. and the UK has won the 2019 Nobel Prize in Medicine, the first of five prizes to be announced this week. On Monday in Sweden, the Nobel committee announced that Americans William Kaelin Jr. and Gregg Semenza, along with Peter Ratcliffe, would split the nearly million-dollar prize for … Continued

ScienceHealth

State Fair Hot Tubs Probably Spread Deadly Legionnaires’ Disease Outbreak in North Carolina

State fairs are a mixed bag in the best of times. But for a hundred or so people who attended the North Carolina Mountain State Fair this past September, it was a nightmare. State health officials have traced an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease to the fair, with the most likely source of infection being contaminated … Continued

ScienceHealth

The U.S. Is Officially Free of Measles—for Now

It looks like we can breathe a sigh of relief. Despite two new cases of measles being reported late last week in New York, federal and state health officials are confident the country’s measles-free status will stay in place. But the new cases highlight just how much a challenge lies ahead in controlling the spread … Continued

ScienceHealth

Aspirin, Strangely Enough, Might Protect Our Lungs From Air Pollution

A dose of aspirin can do more than just soothe your headache, a new study suggests—it might also protect your lungs from air pollution. Air pollution harms our bodies in all sorts of ways, both short-term and long-term. One of these ways is through irritating and inflaming lung cells. So it makes sense that aspirin … Continued

ScienceHealth

Prospective Fathers Should Avoid Binge Drinking, Study Finds

Prospective parents—but especially dads—might be wise to avoid too much alcohol, according to a new study out this week. It suggests that women and men who binge drink in the months before conception are more likely to have children with congenital heart defects, with the father’s alcohol consumption surprisingly having a greater impact on the … Continued

ScienceHealth

Judge Rules That Supervised Injection Site Planned in Philly Is Legal

On Wednesday, a federal judge struck down the U.S. government’s attempt to stop the development of the country’s first supervised injection site in Philadelphia—a move heralded by many public health experts worried about the opioid and drug overdose crisis. Supervised, or safe, injection sites are public spaces where people are given the opportunity to use … Continued

ScienceHealth

Brexit Sparked a UK Man’s Psychotic Episode, Doctors Say

For one British man, the controversial vote that led to Brexit in 2016 might have literally driven him around the bend, causing a temporary bout of psychosis. The strange tale was detailed by the man’s physicians this week in BMJ Case Reports. According to the paper, the man—only described to be in his 40s—had been … Continued

ScienceHealth

Human Fetuses Develop Lizard-Like Body Parts That Disappear Before Birth

New research this week seems to show that human fetuses develop several muscles in their legs and arms that disappear by the time they’re born. And some of these muscles were last seen in our adult ancestors over 250 million years ago. The evolutionary journey of any species is littered with detours and dead-ends. Humans, … Continued

ScienceHealth

A 1964 Earthquake Might Have Unleashed a Deadly Fungus on the Pacific Northwest

Two decades ago, a rare but deadly fungal infection began killing animals and people in the U.S. and Canada. To this day, no one has figured out how it arrived there in the first place. Now a pair of scientists have put forth their own theory: Tsunamis, sparked by a massive earthquake in 1964, soaked … Continued

ScienceHealth

U.S. Workers Are Getting Less Sleep Than 10 Years Ago, Study Finds

That many people don’t get enough sleep is hardly news, but a recent study suggests that sleep deprivation is getting worse in the U.S., especially for people with high-pressure jobs in medicine, law enforcement, and transportation. There’s been plenty of research suggesting that people generally aren’t getting as much sleep as they ought to be. … Continued

ScienceHealth

CVS and Walgreens Pull Heartburn Drug Zantac From Shelves Over FDA Carcinogen Warning

In mid-September, the Food and Drug Administration warned that a popular heartburn drug, commonly known by the brand name Zantac, could contain small amounts of a cancer-causing chemical. Over the weekend, the chain pharmacy CVS announced it would stop selling all versions of the drug, a move that follows a voluntary recall of the drug … Continued

ScienceHealth

Doctors Say a Washing Machine Helped Spread a Superbug at a Maternity Ward

In what might be a first, doctors in Germany think that a too-gentle washing machine helped spread a superbug to more than a dozen newborns and children in the same hospital—though thankfully, no one was hurt. Antibiotic resistance has become a major public health threat over the years, and none more so than in hospitals. … Continued

ScienceHealth

If No One Gets Measles in the Next Three Days, the U.S. Can Call Itself Measles-Free

On Wednesday, officials from Rockland County, New York declared their almost year-long outbreak of measles over—a mere week before the U.S. would have to forfeit its status of having eradicated any local traces of the disease. If nearby neighborhoods report any more cases in the next few days, we could still lose our measles-free status, … Continued