New York rats are big and bad. They sit calmly on the subway tracks, ignoring discomfited commuters on the platform. They stroll through Central Park as if they owned the place. They pretty much rule the East Village. And they do not have much to fear from cats, a new study suggests. In the report,…
Harvey Washington Wiley was born in a log cabin on April 16, 1844, a fitting entrance for an American hero. His father was a farmer and a lay preacher in southern Indiana who sheltered escaped slaves as part of the Underground Railroad. Wiley served briefly in the Civil War, studied medicine in Indiana and chemistry…
Ulcerative colitis is a condition that causes inflammation, irritation, and sores in the colon and rectum. While medication can control symptoms for some people, others may need surgery. The Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation say 25 to 40 percent of people with ulcerative colitis eventually require surgery. Today, there are two different surgical techniques for ulcerative…
Ulcerative colitis is a long-term disease of the large intestine or colon. While the condition itself is not fatal, it can cause life-threatening complications in rare instances. Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). According to estimates, it may affect as many as 907,000 people in the United States. In this…
A child in Florida who had not received the flu vaccine died from the virus, state officials announced on Monday, the first influenza-related pediatric death reported in the country this flu season. While flu activity remains low across the United States, the Florida Department of Health said that a child tested positive for one of…
A prominent cardiologist formerly at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston fabricated or falsified data in 31 published studies that should be retracted, officials at the institutions have concluded. The cardiologist, Dr. Piero Anversa, produced research suggesting that damaged heart muscle could be regenerated with stem cells, a type of cell…
The October breeze felt exhilarating on my scalp as a hairdresser shaved my head. With mixed feelings, I watched my wild, frizzy brown locks fall away and leave behind a clean, neat half-inch buzz. I had often joked about shaving my head to friends. “Wouldn’t it be nice not to have to fuss with it…
Nervous you may have upset someone? Reframe worry into care about a person who matters. Terrified about going out on that first date? Consider that your heart is beating fast at the possibility of it going well. How you label your experience is 100 percent in your control. You can then channel anxiety into a…
A federally-supported database, ClinVar, allows laboratories to publicly share data on genetic mutations and what they are thought to mean. But some companies, like Myriad, which host huge databases on genetic mutations, do not contribute to ClinVar. Even the terminology for DNA variants may not be widely shared. Different labs have different naming schemes. For…
In a rare political riposte, Senator Elizabeth Warren on Monday released an analysis of her DNA indicating that she has a Native American ancestor, likely between six and 10 generations back in her family history. President Trump has mocked Ms. Warren’s claims of Native American ancestry, often calling her Pocahontas. The new analysis appeared to…