Every time a virus gets you sick, your immune system keeps a record. This essentially becomes a kill list that lets your body recognize and readily dispatch of any virus that tries to invade again. Scientists have now created $25 test blood test that prints out this list—an easy and cheap way to find out every virus that’s ever made you sick. Read more…
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A $25 Blood Test Could Detect Every Virus That’s Ever Infected You
Researchers in fields from epidemiology to genetics are studying mummies, using the latest imaging technology. Now we know more than ever before about what lies beneath the mummies’ wrappings — and these long-dead people are telling us a lot about ancient lives and cultures. Read more…
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Everything We’ve Learned About Mummies Using 21st Century Technology
The health insurer CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield has announced that a cyber attack has stolen 1.1 million records of both current and former members. Read more…
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1.1 Million User Records Stolen From Health Insurer CareFirst
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 to develop. Read more…
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The US Is Finally Getting Access to a Promising Cancer Drug From Cuba
Scientists have a promising if slightly grisly treatment for wounds: skin from human cadavers stripped of everything but its cells. Sound weird? Let me explain. Read more…
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Skin From Human Cadavers Helps Wounds Heal Better
The results of a massive new DNA sequencing project on the New York City subway have just been published . And y up, there’s a lot of bacteria on the subway—though we know most of it is harmless. What’s really important, though, is what we don’t know about it. Read more…
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Half the DNA on the NYC Subway Matches No Known Organism
It’s easy to forget how horrifying the effects of a vitamin deficiency can be. Each year, up to 500, 000 children in the developing world go blind from lack of vitamin A, half of whom will then die within 12 months. The molecule that could save their lives is so well-studied and abundant, yet we haven’t figured out how to get it to them. Read more…
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Could Genetically Engineered Gut Bacteria Make Vitamins Obsolete?
Many people believe you can “target” fat loss through certain exercises, such as crunches for belly fat. The truth, however, is that no amount of crunches or sit ups will give you a six pack. Read more…
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Crunches Alone Won’t Give You a Six Pack: The Myth of Spot Reduction
The L.A. Times reports that for the first time since 2007, the FDA has approved a weight loss device (as opposed to a weight-loss drug), an implantable device called the Maestro Rechargeable System. Using electrical leads implanted just above the stomach and a regulator carried under the skin near the ribcage, the device suppresses signals carried by the vagus nerve. … The device adopts a variant of a “neuromodulation” technique long used in the treatment of epilepsy: by applying intermittent bursts of electrical current to the vagus nerve, it disrupts the signals that prompt the stomach to relax, expand and prepare for an influx of food. … The FDA approved the use of the device in adult patients with a body mass index, or BMI, between 35 and 45, who have at least one other obesity-related condition, such as type 2 diabetes. Read more of this story at Slashdot.
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FDA Approves Implantable Vagus Nerve Disruptor For Weight Loss
Kinsa, the company behind the world’s first app-enabled, FDA-approved smart thermometer, has today announced the close of a $9.6 million Series A financing round with participation from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, FirstMark Capital, and Andy Palmer, among others. This comes directly on the heels of the launch of a new program called Fluency, which lets Kinsa track the spread… Read More
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Kinsa Raises $9.6M Series A For A Smart Thermometer That Tracks The Spread Of Illness