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ScienceHealthWhat You Can Do About Mosquitos
From ancient home remedies to modern gadgets and even new clothes technology, there’s no need to suffer mosquito bites this spring. Follow this basic advice and never get bit again. Do Home Remedies Work? It depends on who you ask. Some people are less prone to mosquito bites than others, likely resulting in anecdotal support … Continued
By Wes Siler -
Tech NewsA New Way of Using Sound Waves to Find Rare Cancer Cells
The cancer cells that circulate in many patients’ bloodstreams are incredibly rare but potentially dangerous. They break off from existing tumors, traveling to new locations where they can grow into new tumors. Scientists have come up with a better way of looking for these cells—using invisible sound waves. Existing ways to sort cancer cells out … Continued
By Sarah Zhang -
io9
The Science Of Spontaneous Healing
A person comes down with a terrible disease. The doctors give up all hope. Then, suddenly, the disease is gone. It’s a great soap opera plot, but it can actually happen in real life. The question is, how? What Is Spontaneous Remission? Spontaneous remission, also known as spontaneous healing, is downplayed by the medical community. … Continued
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io9
Women At Risk For Ovarian Cancer Have New Options, But No Easy Choices
Women predisposed to ovarian cancer can reduce their risk with surgery, but with it comes early menopause. To avoid this, some doctors propose delaying part of the procedure. But is this safe? More than two decades have passed, but Erika Archer Lewis clearly recalls the fear, uncertainty and struggle required to bring her 42-year-old mother … Continued
Charlotte Huff - Mosaic Science -
io9
The Game You Can Play to Help Cancer Research
Cancer Research UK’s latest foray into citizen science is in the form of the game Even the Odds. Just spend some time trying to save the Odds and you can also help researchers gather data on cancer cells. The game itself is pretty similar to other games out there: the world of the Odds is … Continued
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io9
Everything You Need To Know About The New, More Effective HPV Vaccine
A recently approved vaccine called Gardasil 9 protects against more strains of HPV and HPV-related cancers than any vaccine currently available. But who should get it? And how did it get so much better? Here’s a complete rundown on the state of the art in HPV-cancer prevention. Image Credit: Getty In June 2006, the U.S. … Continued
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Tech News
Graphene Could Be Used to Neutralize Cancer Stem Cells
Graphene has a frankly overwhelming array of amazing possible uses, from body armor to seeing through walls. To that list, you can perhaps add the ability to fight cancer, too. Researchers at the University of Manchester in the UK—the birthplace of graphene—have used the 2D carbon material to target and neutralise cancer stem cells. Using … Continued
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Tech News
No, These Apps Can’t Detect Cancer. Just Stop.
A slew of apps have cropped up touting the ability to diagnose any number of diseases over the past few years, and now thanks to the federal trade commission, at least two of them will have to stop. Because science isn’t backing up any of it. The apps currently in question, MelApp and Mole Detective, … Continued
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io9
A Mitochondrial DNA Transplant Could Help Treat Hundreds Of Diseases
For the first time ever, researchers in New Zealand have shown that mitochondrial DNA can move between cells in an animal tumor. It’s an extraordinary finding that could lead to an entirely new field of synthetic biology and the treatment of hundreds of diseases. Top image: The dark field image on the left highlights the … Continued
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io9
Math Suggests Most Cancers Are Caused By “Bad Luck”
Two-thirds of all cancers are caused by random mutations and not genetics or lifestyle factors, say scientists from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD. The new paper, which now appears in the journal Science, suggests that 22 out of the 31 cancer types analyzed are simply the result of biological bad luck. These include leukemia, … Continued
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Tech News
Two-Thirds of Cancer Cases Are Simply Down to Bad Luck
A new study suggests that two-thirds of cancer cases can be put down to the bad luck of random DNA mutations rather than unhealthy lifestyles or inherited genes. The new research, published in Science, finds that DNA mutations which accumulate throughout the body during cell division are the main reason for the development of cancer. … Continued
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io9
A Cool New Theory Explains Why Red Wine Is So Damned Good For You
The antioxidant resveratrol, which is found in red wine and other foods like nuts and soy, is known for its ability to decrease incidence of heart disease and other illnesses, leading some to call it the “elixir of youth.” Researchers at the Scripps Research Institute now have an explanation for how it works. Resveratrol (prounounced … Continued
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ScienceHealthRemember the 90s Panic That Power Lines Caused Cancer?
“The potential danger from EM fields is making millions of human beings into test animals,” Ted Koppel solemnly intones in a 1990 Nightline report on electromagnetic fields from power lines. But two decades and hundreds of studies later, there has been no great cancer epidemic caused by power lines. Why did we get so scared … Continued
By Sarah Zhang -
Tech NewsSploid
365 days of Beijing pollution in one megamosaic
Beijing is a great city, especially if you want to develop lung cancer thanks to the overwhelming pollution that shrouds the city most days of the year. This mosaic made by resident Zou Yi during a year of photos from the same window is even more powerful than the usual pictures we are used to. … Continued
By Jesus Diaz -
io9
Why It’s Harmful to Describe Cancer as a “War”
When people talk about cancer, they often resort to the language of war – e.g. Mary lost her brave fight with cancer. Manycompelling objections have been made against the use of such “battle metaphors,” and a growing body of evidence suggests that, for some people, they can actually be harmful. Above: American Civil War, Union … Continued
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io9
High Number Of Sex Partners Linked To Lower Risk Of Prostate Cancer
A survey of more than 3,000 Montreal-area men has found those who reported having had more than 20 female sex partners are 28% less likely to develop prostate cancer than those who had slept with only one woman. Cue the avalanche of spuriously justified sexual decisions! It is ambiguous whether the decreased likelihood of prostate … Continued
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io9
Google X Labs is developing a pill that could one day detect cancer and heart disease. The pill would contain 2,000 nanoparticles coated with antibodies and molecules capable of detecting other molecules, and travel through the patient’s bloodstream in search of malignant cells. The findings would be transmitted to a sensor on a wearable device. … Continued
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Tech News
Google X Wants to Track Cancer With Nanoparticles and Wearables
Google X, the company’s secretive arm tasked with dreaming up the future, is as you would imagine pretty ambitious. But in the area of medicine, their plans seem ripped from the pages of science fiction. Today at the WSJD conference, Google X announced a project that wants to track cancer in your blood with the … Continued
By Darren Orf -
ScienceHealthScientists Can Detect Disease By Dripping Urine Down This Tiny Tube
A team of chemists at Brigham Young University have developed a remarkably simple and cheap lab-on-a-chip test that can accurately detect markers of serious conditions like kidney disease or even prostate cancer using nothing but a drop of urine the and the perpetual pull of gravity. The device features a long and incredibly thin tube … Continued