Health comes from how each person’s unique biology responds to its environment. As an example, an article to be published in the Public Library of Science Genetics argues that the environment can affect how genes operate. I don’t mean mutations from toxins. I mean the response to geography and way of life. [Read more…]

We are surrounded by health risks. Each day we make choices to avoid those risks—at least the ones we know about. Doing that could turn into a fulltime job. Because time is scarce, we often use our intuition and rules of thumb. Some common strategies include following the recommendations of friends and family, health professionals, and people identified as health experts. On your own, you draw your own conclusions from reports in the media, any journals you might read, and the promotional materials for products and services. [Read more…]

Are pharmaceuticals capable of healing?

A study in the next issue of Science describes a method for discovering new uses for existing drugs. The method compares their off-target effects. “Off-target” is a refreshing and more accurate phrase for the more familiar “side effects.” It’s a recognition that drugs have biological effects, only some of which are intended. [Read more…]

Parasites are good for you—and I don’t mean unwanted houseguests. Last week the New York Times carried an article titled “The Worm Turns.” Today the Times published another titled “The Worms Crawls In.” They describe research on how round worms elicit an immune response that protects against diseases of inflammation. In addition to conferring protection against allergies, these parasites promote immune protection against inflammatory bowel disease, asthma, multiple sclerosis, and diabetes. [Read more…]