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

Jul 31, 2009

How to Know if You Have Alzheimer's

This Week's Question: I've been forgetting names of people lately and I have this dread that this is an early symptom of Alzheimer's. How can I tell? I don't know a geezer who hasn't asked this question. Once you hit 60, you begin to wonder if your lost keys have...

Jun 30, 2009

40 Years After Moon Landing: Why Can't We Cure Cancer?

Editor's Note: Forty years ago this month, humans landed on the moon for the first time. We asked Christopher Wanjek why, four decades later, we can't cure cancer. Will we ever win the war on cancer? Richard Nixon had every reason to be optimistic when, during his 1971 State of...

Mar 31, 2009

Flu Special Report: The Basics

With swine flu outbreaks creating what U.S. health officials Sunday called a public health emergency, LiveScience presents a 4-part Flu Special Report this week to examines the science of influenza, what you can do to be safe, and the risk of a pandemic. Part 1 today: Flu basics. The flu...

Mar 31, 2009

Swine Flu Vaccine Could Take 6 Months

A vaccine for the new swine flu in humans could take at least six months to manufacture and distribute widely, a British doctor said. The reason: Vaccines must be developed from the specific flu strain, tested for safety, sent to manufacturers for mass production, and then distributed around the world....

Mar 31, 2009

5 Wild Diseases We Got From Animals

The swine flu is just one of many deadly diseases that have jumped from animals to humans. Bacteria and viruses that are deadly to one type of creature can evolve quickly to infect another. The cross-species infection can originate on farms or in markets, where conditions foster mixing of pathogens,...

Jan 31, 2009

Infectious Superbug Invades Beaches

CHICAGO — Add the MRSA superbug to the list of concerns you bring to the beach nowadays, a research doctor said today. It's still safe to go in the water, especially if you shower thoroughly before and after swimming, but antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, a strain of bacteria that can cause...

Dec 31, 2008

Mellow Demeanor May Stave Off Dementia

People who are socially active and mellow may be less likely to develop dementia, a new study finds. Dementia is a loss of mental function, such as memory and reasoning, that is severe enough to interfere with everyday life. Several diseases can cause dementia, including Alzheimer's (the most common cause...

Oct 31, 2010

Modern Miracle: Skin Transformed into Blood

Got blood? Future patients who need transfusions for surgery and cancer treatments could get it from a patch of their own skin. Canadian researchers took the huge step of transforming adult human skin directly into blood, as detailed in the Nov. 7 issue of the journal Nature. That should provide...

Oct 31, 2010

Are Cruise Ships a Health Risk?

Don't worry playing shuffleboard probably doesn't increase your chances of blowing out a knee. But if you're going on a cruise, make sure you wash your hands: Cruise ships can be a hotbed for viruses. We're not talking about the piddly viruses that cause the common sniffle. No, the big...

Aug 31, 2010

When's the Best Time to Get the Flu Vaccine?

While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends getting the seasonal flu vaccine as soon as possible, some doctors say people should wait until October or November. When's the best time to get the flu shot? Everyone should get the flu vaccine as soon as it becomes available in...

Jun 30, 2010

What's the Most Common STD?

With more than 600 million cases worldwide, including 20 million in the United States, human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO). The virus is most prevalent among young adults. In a...

May 31, 2010

How Do Vaccines Work?

Vaccines are like a training course for the immune system. They prepare the body to fight disease without exposing it to disease symptoms. When foreign invaders such as bacteria or viruses enter the body, immune cells called lymphocytes respond by producing antibodies, which are protein molecules. These antibodies fight the...

Apr 30, 2010

Longevity Protein Discovered

A protein that can extend the lifetimes of worms could have implications for human longevity and development of cancers, a new study suggests. Roundworms (C. elegans) born without the protien called arrestin lived a third longer than normal, while worms with triple the amount of the protein cut their lives...

Dec 31, 2009

Politicians Say Cell Phones Cause Cancer

Cell phones cause cancer, according to a breakthrough analysis by politicians from Maine who read some scary stuff on the Internet about it. If this small, enlightened group of representatives, led by State Representative Andrea Boland, is able to convince the rest of the state legislature later this month, then...

Nov 30, 2011

Mosquitoes Pick Out Human Meals With Help from Microbes

Mosquitoes like some people better than others, and differences in the microbes living on our skin may help explain the bloodsuckers' dining preferences. It turns out men with a large variety of microbes living on their skin make for less attractive meals for the African malaria-carrying mosquito Anopheles gambiae sensu...