Viruses, Infections & Disease, features and articles | Educational Science

Apr 27, 2022

Over 100 brain tumors linked to NJ high school: Is it a cancer cluster?

More than 100 graduates of a New Jersey high school have been diagnosed with brain tumors over the past 30 years, prompting concern that there might be a connection between the school and the tumor cases. Now, an investigation is underway to determine if the school — Colonia High School...

Jun 6, 2022

Experimental rectal cancer drug caused all patients' tumors to disappear in small trial

In an unprecedented clinical trial, a dozen rectal cancer patients saw their tumors disappear after they received an experimental drug called dostarlimab, and none of the patients experienced significant side effects from the treatment. I believe this is the first time this has happened in the history of cancer, in...

Aug 31, 2022

Vitamin E May Increase Prostate Cancer Risk in Men

Taking extra vitamin E may increase men's risk of prostate cancer, a new study says. Men in the study who took supplements of 400 international units (IU) of vitamin E every day were 17 percent more likely to develop prostate cancer over a seven-year period than men who took a...

Aug 31, 2022

Supplements May Raise, Not Lower, Cancer Risk

Although dietary supplements are often touted for their health benefits, they may in fact increase your cancer risk, especially if taken in high doses, according to a new analysis of previous research. In the analysis, researchers looked at 20 years of published studies on supplements and people's risk of cancer....

Aug 31, 2022

How Soy Supplements May Affect Breast-Cancer Genes

Taking soy protein supplements may lead to some concerning genetic changes for women with breast cancer, a new study suggests. In the study, half of 140 women diagnosed with invasive breast cancer took soy protein powder and the other half took a placebo for between seven and 30 days before...

Aug 31, 2022

Selenium, Vitamin E Supplements May Double Prostate Cancer Risk

Men who take selenium and vitamin E supplements may increase their risk of prostate cancer, researchers have found. The new study examined about 1,700 men with prostate cancer and 3,100 healthy men. These men had previously participated in a large trial in 2001, in which they had been randomly assigned...

Sep 1, 2022

How to Tell Liver Spots from Moles and Cancer

This Week's Question: Do liver spots have anything at all to do with the liver? No. This is a common question and a great starting point for a column about all those doohickeys that grow on our skin as we age. LIVER SPOTS: The official name for liver or age...

Sep 21, 2022

The 10 deadliest cancers, and why there's no cure

There's no doubt that cancer is deadly. It is the second most common cause of death in Americans after heart disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Even when diagnosed early and attacked with the latest treatments, cancer still has the power to kill. According to the...

Oct 14, 2022

Selena Gomez's Diagnosis: What Is Lupus?

The pop star Selena Gomez recently announced that she was diagnosed with lupus and underwent chemotherapy for the condition in 2013. The autoimmune diagnosis was behind her decision to cancel her 2013 tour and spend years out of the spotlight. I was diagnosed with lupus, and I've been through chemotherapy....

Oct 14, 2022

Can Chronic Stress Cause or Worsen Cancer? Here's What the Evidence Shows.

The fast-paced world we live in is a perfect driver of stress. The racing heart, knots in the stomach and vague sense of agitation are an unavoidable part of the human condition. But chronic stress can, over time, harm the body, causing everything from inflammation to cardiometabolic disease. In some...

Oct 14, 2022

The Truth About Cell Phones and Cancer

Ronald Herberman, director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, shocked just about all law-abiding scientists (abiding by laws of physics, that is) with his warning last week to his faculty and staff that cell phones might pose a cancer risk. This is troublesome because this time a really smart...

Oct 14, 2022

The Science Behind the Cell Phone Cancer Scare

Do cell phones cause brain cancer? There's no good reason to think they do. But if we are to believe the gospel truth delivered by physicists that radio waves from cell phones simply aren't powerful enough to break chemical bonds, the trait of all cancer-causing mutagens, why then do very...

Oct 14, 2022

Fungi grow inside cancerous tumors, scientists discover

Scientists discovered traces of fungi lurking in the tumors of people with different types of cancer, including breast, colon, pancreatic and lung cancers. However, it's still not clear that these fungi play any role in the development or progression of cancer. Two new studies, both published Sept. 29 in the...

Oct 28, 2022

DNA-damaging gut bacteria may fuel colon cancer in patients with inflammatory bowel disease

Scientists have discovered DNA-damaging molecules made by gut bacteria that may help explain why people with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have higher rates of colorectal cancer than those without the condition. In a new study, published Thursday (Oct. 27) in the journal Science, researchers identified a previously unknown class of...

Nov 6, 2022

Woman diagnosed with 12 tumors in her lifetime has a never-before-seen genetic mutation

A woman developed 12 tumors — seven benign and five cancerous — before her 40th birthday. Medical researchers recently discovered why she's so prone to the abnormal growths: She carries a set of genetic mutations never seen before in humans. The woman, now 36 years old, carries two mutant copies...