Stem Cells Reveal New Secrets About Mental Illness
Dina Fine Maron, health & science editor at Scientific American, discusses the breakthrough that could help doctors diagnose mental illnesses. Stem cells have enabled researchers to see how lithium affects the brain.
Researchers are converting patients skin cells into brain cells through genetic instruction. This allows them to look at the brain cells of a person with bipolar disorder and better understand how to treat it.
Maron explains this breakthrough will allow doctors to customize a patient's treatment plan, instead of giving them the same treatment given to everyone. Maron says the hope is one day researchers will be able to expose a patient's cells to a particular drug and see how they react before prescribing the drug to an actual patient.
A meta-analysis published in Current Biology suggests men who get fewer than six hours of sleep a night leading up to a vaccination had a weaker antibody response compared to those who got more sleep.
At its annual health event on Tuesday, Google announced a series of changes to its search tool that it said will make it easier to access information about affordable health care services.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing the nation's first-ever drinking water standard around polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) or "forever chemicals."
A new atmospheric river brought heavy rain, thunderstorms and strong winds to California on Friday, raising the threat of flooding and disrupting travel.
