A group of scientists say they want work toward being able to create a synthetic version of the entire human genetic code in the laboratory. Their hope is that a complete set of synthetic human DNA, known as a genome, could someday lead to important medical breakthroughs. “We just had a revolution in our ability […]
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Army’s Smart Earplug Damps Explosive Noise, But Can Enhance Whispers
by explainingmedicine June 8, 2016Since 2014, the U.S. Army has gradually been deploying the latest version of a hearing protection system that protects users from loud noises while still letting them hear the world around them. The system is called TCAPS, or Tactical Communication and Protective System, and about 20,000 of the new TCAPS devices have been deployed in […]
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A Permanent Fund That Could Help Fight Zika Exists, But It’s Empty
by explainingmedicine June 8, 2016Public health advocates who are exasperated by the fight on Capitol Hill over how much to spend to combat the Zika virus are looking longingly at the Federal Emergency Management Agency. FEMA has a standing fund that it can draw upon when disaster strikes. The fund is replenished when the money is spent cleaning up […]
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CholesterolHeartMedicationsNews
Guess Which Woman Is Having A Heart Attack (Hint: You Can’t)
by explainingmedicine June 8, 2016Three months ago I had a heart attack. And since the symptoms of a heart attack are different for women, and since the kind I had can strike young people with no markers of heart disease, I’ve decided to tell my story. And because I love to name drop, I’ll do some of that along […]
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ConditionsHeartNews
Families Isolated By Rare Genetic Conditions Find New Ways To Reach Out
by explainingmedicine June 8, 2016Shortly after Milo Lorentzen was born, nurses whisked him away to the neonatal intensive care unit for low blood sugar and jaundice. An exam then found a cluster of irregularities, including a cleft palate and a hole in his heart. The staff called in a geneticist, who issued a misdiagnosis — the first frustrating episode […]
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ConditionsNews
Febrile Seizures After Childhood Vaccines Are Rare, Study Finds
by explainingmedicine June 8, 2016A seizure caused by a fever in a young child can be terrifying, and some parents worry that the occasional fever that can follow a vaccine may cause one. But febrile seizures after vaccines are rare, a study finds, affecting 3 children out of 10,000. And children almost always recover completely. The study, published Monday […]
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YouTube It’s not just idle curiosity that’s got scientists hunting down all the bloody details of a mosquito bite. Bites from these bugs are more dangerous to humans than those of any other animal; mosquitoes kill hundreds of thousands of people each year worldwide, and sicken millions more. Male mosquitoes don’t bite people, but when […]
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HeartNews
Federal Standard May Be Thwarting Some Liver Transplant Patients
by explainingmedicine June 8, 2016For the roughly 15,000 people who need a liver transplant, it’s a waiting game. With demand for donated livers far outstripping supply, patients may spend months or years on a transplant waitlist, their position in the line gradually improving as they get sicker. A recent study suggests that this system may be changing but not […]