Health, features and articles | Educational Science

May 31, 2017

Drugs and Carrie Fisher: How Cocaine, MDMA Affect Heart

Actress Carrie Fisher had a number of drugs in her system, including cocaine and MDMA, when she went into cardiac arrest before her death in December. But how do these drugs affect the heart? Fisher experienced what appeared to be a cardiac arrest at the end of a long flight...

May 31, 2017

Drug May Help with Common Form of Vision Loss

An experimental drug reduces eye damage in people with a common form of vision loss for which there is currently no available treatment, a new study finds. The new research sought to treat age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of vision loss in industrialized countries, according to the World...

May 31, 2017

Too Much Tech Tied to Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

College students who are glued to their devices may show early signs of developing the painful condition carpal tunnel syndrome, a new study suggests. Researchers found that young adults who spent an average of 9 hours a day using mobile phones, tablets, gaming consoles and computers reported more pain in...

May 31, 2017

Brain-Infecting 'Rat Lungworm' Spreads in Florida

A parasitic worm that can infect people's brains has been found throughout Florida, according to a new study. The researchers found the parasite, called rat lungworm, living in rats and snails in five Florida counties in both the central and northern parts of the state. Rat lungworm was previously found...

Apr 30, 2017

What Cancer Did Val Kilmer Have? A Look At Some Possibilities

Actor Val Kilmer recently revealed that he had cancer that left him with a swollen tongue, but exactly what type of cancer could have caused this symptom? On Wednesday, April 26, Kilmer took part in a Reddit AMA (ask me anything), and a user asked Kilmer about an incident last...

Apr 30, 2017

Gluten-Free Diets Don't Lower Heart Disease Risk

Gluten-free diets are popular these days, but a new study finds that avoiding gluten won't lower your risk of heart disease. In fact, the researchers say that gluten-free diets could pose health concerns because people who go gluten free tend to lower their intake of whole grains — an ingredient...

Apr 30, 2017

Could Your Cells Be Worth Millions?

By donating blood plasma, you can make anywhere from $40 to $100 per week. But that's loose change to Ted Slavin. He could make a hundred times that by selling his blood serum. Not everyone can do what Slavin did, however, and not everyone may want to. Rebecca Skloot told...

Apr 30, 2017

How can you get pregnant using an IUD?

A woman's photo of her newborn baby — just delivered, and with the intrauterine device (IUD) that failed to prevent her pregnancy clenched in his tiny fist — has gone viral. But how does a woman get pregnant while using an IUD? The woman, Lucy Hellein of Fort Mitchell, Alabama,...

Apr 30, 2017

Weight-Loss Procedure Makes Stomach into 'Accordion' Without Surgery

CHICAGO — A new, nonsurgical weight-loss procedure — which involves inserting a tube down a patient's throat and suturing the stomach — is safe and effective, a new study finds. During the procedure, which is called endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty, doctors insert a long tube down a patient's esophagus to the...

Apr 30, 2017

Can Patients with Celiac Disease Eat Oats?

CHICAGO — For people with celiac disease, the rule is clear: no gluten. That means avoiding all foods made with wheat, barley and rye. But what about oats? Although oats are not thought to cause an immune reaction in patients with celiac disease, they're often contaminated with gluten from other...

Apr 30, 2017

Carbs Could Cause Trouble for Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease

CHICAGO — The nutrients in the food you eat can worsen or lessen symptoms of inflammatory bowel disease, a new study from Canada finds. Inflammatory bowel disease involves having chronic inflammation in the digestive tract. The two main types of the condition are ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. An estimated...

Apr 30, 2017

Wedding Fireworks Ruptured Man's Eardrums

Celebratory fireworks at a wedding led to the rupturing of both of a man’s eardrums, according to a brief report of the man's case. The 30-year-old man went to the emergency room in Switzerland after an explosion from the fireworks accidentally went off close to where he was standing, according...

Apr 30, 2017

Hepatitis C Cases Triple, and Opioid Crisis Is Mainly to Blame

New cases of hepatitis C have tripled over a five-year period, and the exploding opioid crisis may be largely to blame. New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealed that 2,436 cases were diagnosed in 2015, compared with just 850 cases in 2010. However, that estimate...

Apr 30, 2017

Combining Aerobic and Resistance Exercise Works Best for Older Adults

People who are both elderly and obese face a tough conundrum: Weight loss is critical for health and mobility, but weight loss can also lead to a decline in muscle and bone mass. The trick for this doubly challenged group is to achieve weight loss without increasing the risk of...

Apr 30, 2017

3D-Printed Ovaries Offer Promise as Infertility Treatment

A female mouse with synthetic ovaries created on a 3D-printer conceived and gave birth to healthy offspring. Researchers said the study could lead to an infertility treatment for women with cancer. The ovary was created using a porous scaffold made from gelatin, according to the all-female research team, which described...