Rob Stein

Rob Stein appears in the following:

'Provocative' Research Turns Skin Cells Into Sperm

Thursday, May 01, 2014

Scientists were able to make immature sperm cells. If they can make the sperm viable, researchers could help men who thought they'd never have kids. But the findings also raise ethical questions.

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Experimental Technique Coaxes Muscles Destroyed By War To Regrow

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

By surgically transplanting material from pig bladders into the injured legs of several men, doctors prompted muscles to heal by growing and nurturing fresh, healthy cells.

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Facing Execution Drug Shortage, States Struggle To Get Cocktail Right

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

A botched execution in Oklahoma is only the latest issue since states started having trouble obtaining the drugs used to execute inmates. They've been trying new combinations and new ...

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With New E-Cigarette Rules, FDA Hopes To Tame A 'Wild, Wild West'

Thursday, April 24, 2014

The Food and Drug Administration is proposing to expand its regulatory powers to e-cigarettes and other popular products containing nicotine.

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FDA Moves To Regulate Increasingly Popular E-Cigarettes

Thursday, April 24, 2014

If the agency has its way, it will ban sales to minors and keep e-cigarettes out of vending machines. People also would be warned that the nicotine vapor the devices emit is addictive.

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FDA Advisers Vote Against Approving New Opioid Painkiller

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

The developer of Moxduo says the drug, which combines morphine and oxycodone, would provide faster pain relief. But reviewers say there's not enough evidence that the combination drug is safer.

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Powerful Narcotic Painkiller Up For FDA Approval

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

The FDA is weighing the pros and cons of a drug that would, for the first time, combine morphine and oxycodone in a single pill. Critics warn that it could launch a new wave of abuse.

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Voodoo Dolls Prove It: Hunger Makes Couples Turn On Each Other

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

To see if low blood sugar sours even good relationships, scientists used an unusual tool: voodoo dolls representing spouses. As hunger levels rose, so did the number of pins.

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Doctors Use 3-D Printing To Help A Baby Breathe

Monday, March 17, 2014

Garrett Peterson was born with a defective windpipe and every day he struggled to breathe. Now, thanks to a 3-D printer, his windpipe has been strengthened and Garrett should soon breathe normally.

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Mix Of Gut Microbes May Play Role In Crohn's Disease

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Research involving more than 1,500 patients suggests people with Crohn's may have too many of the types of gut bacteria that tend to rile the immune system and too few that reduce inflammation.

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Genetic Sequencing May Not Be Ready To Become Routine

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Sequencing someone's genetic code may seem a good way to raise warnings on health risks. But results can be a confusing mess of information that only leaves patients and doctors needlessly scared.

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Blood Test Provides More Accurate Prenatal Testing For Down Syndrome

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

A pregnant woman's blood contains enough fetal DNA for doctors to check whether the baby would be born with Down syndrome. A new blood test is safe and accurate, but it raises ethical concerns.

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Scientists Question Safety Of Genetically Altering Human Eggs

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Researchers say they can replace DNA in human eggs with genetic material from another woman to prevent devastating disorders in children. But big questions remain on safety and ethics.

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Flu Strikes Younger Adults Hard This Year

Thursday, February 20, 2014

This year's flu season is hitting younger and middle-aged adults unusually hard, federal health officials say.

More than 60 percent of flu patients who ended up in the hospital this year have been between the ages of 18 and 64. The proportion of young people among the hospitalized is much ...

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Babies' Immune Systems May Stand Down To Let Good Microbes Grow

Wednesday, November 06, 2013

Here's possible solace for parents who are up at night with a baby who gets sick all the time: There appears to be a good reason why infant immune systems don't fight off germs.

A newborn's immune system is deliberately not doing battle with every germ that comes along so ...

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Getting Your Microbes Analyzed Raises Big Privacy Issues

Monday, November 04, 2013

After spending months working on a series of stories about the trillions of friendly microbes that live in and on our bodies, I decided it might be interesting to explore my own microbiome.

So I pulled out my credit card and paid the $99 needed to sign up for the ...

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Exploring The Invisible Universe That Lives On Us — And In Us

Monday, November 04, 2013

The next time you look in a mirror, think about this: In many ways you're more microbe than human. There are 10 times more cells from microorganisms like bacteria and fungi in and on our bodies than there are human cells.

Scientists increasingly think that these microorganisms have a huge ...

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FDA Seeks To Tighten Controls On Hydrocodone Painkillers

Thursday, October 24, 2013

The Food and Drug Administration Thursday announced that it wants the federal government to impose tough new restrictions on some of the most widely used prescription painkillers.

The FDA said it planned to recommend that Vicodin and other prescription painkillers containing the powerful opioid hydrocodone be reclassified from a ...

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Big Measles Outbreaks Worry Federal Health Officials

Thursday, September 12, 2013

Federal health officials are worried about an unusually high number of measles cases occurring in the United States this year.

There have been at least eight outbreaks so far this year involving 159 cases, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday in its Morbidity and ...

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FDA Ratchets Down On Prescribing Of OxyContin And Other Opioids

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

The Food and Drug Administration today took another step toward restricting use of OxyContin and other powerful and often-abused prescription pain medications.

The move comes amid an emotional debate over so-called long-acting opioid analgesics. Federal health officials and others are concerned about the rising number of Americans who ...

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