Category Archives: Disease

Stem Cells Wanted: Alive Not Dead

Stem cell therapies are taking off, in a surprisingly unregulated way. While most humans have to go to places like South Korea to receive them, horses, dogs, cats, pigs and tigers are already being treated in North America. The most … Continue reading

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Eating too much salt sends immune system haywire

When it comes to knowing whether eating too much salt is a bad thing, there is a surprising lack of “verified-by-science” information available*. A certain level of salt, or sodium chloride, is a biological necessity that keeps muscles pumping and … Continue reading

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Posted in Disease, Immunology, Science | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

24 hours in the life of HIV

Human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, only emerged in humans relatively recently, yet already represents a big public health threat. When HIV enters the human body, often through sexual contact or the sharing of needles between drug users, it shows a … Continue reading

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The journey to parasite egg paradise

The parasite, Schistosoma mansoni, is a remarkably cunning and efficient worm. It spends the first part of its life infecting freshwater snails, where it vigorously multiplies to bulk up numbers. This parasite army then marches out of the snail and … Continue reading

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What makes the smallpox vaccine so great?

Perhaps one of the most incredibly effective vaccines ever used, against smallpox, has completely eradicated a terribly nasty human disease. Yet the way in which vaccinia virus, the live poxvirus contained in the smallpox vaccine, actually orchestrates a protective immune … Continue reading

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