Read more medical breakthrough stories on Newserhttp://www.newser.com/taggrid/241/medical-breakthrough.html2009 - Newseren-usNewser Feed GeneratorTue, 24 Nov 2009 8:34:11 CSThttp://www.newser.com/story/71453/new-spider-pill-roams-body-hunting-cancer.html?utm_source=syn&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tagIt sounds like something out of science fiction, but a tiny robotic spider could save your life. Scientists have created a pill-sized camera that, once swallowed, can deploy mechanical legs and roam the body looking for cancer or other maladies, the Daily Telegraph reports. The “spider pill” is controlled wirelessly...http://www.newser.com/story/71453/new-spider-pill-roams-body-hunting-cancer.html?utm_source=syn&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tagMon, 12 Oct 2009 10:47:03 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/64261/coffee-can-make-you-hallucinate-study-says.html?utm_source=syn&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tagCaffeine junkies shouldn’t always trust their ears, according to a new study. Subjects who drank the equivalent of seven cups of coffee proved three times more likely to hear voices, and slightly more likely to experience other hallucinations, than those consuming less than a cup’s worth. Researchers theorize that the...http://www.newser.com/story/64261/coffee-can-make-you-hallucinate-study-says.html?utm_source=syn&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tagMon, 13 Jul 2009 13:19:02 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/61979/asthma-breakthrough-holds-promise.html?utm_source=syn&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tagScientists have found a “cellular pump” that appears central to the development of asthma, pointing the way to possible new treatments, the BBC reports. The pump, called SERCA2, helps airway muscles relax. People with asthma had reduced SERCA2 levels, researchers found; replacing it in airway muscle cells could help fight...http://www.newser.com/story/61979/asthma-breakthrough-holds-promise.html?utm_source=syn&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tagTue, 16 Jun 2009 14:34:01 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/61986/superbug-kills-face-hand-transplant-patient.html?utm_source=syn&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tagA French man who received a groundbreaking face and double hand transplant to repair damage from severe burns has died from a massive infection, reports the Independent . The patient, 30, suffered a heart attack during surgery to battle a super bug invasion in his face. Despite the problem, his body...http://www.newser.com/story/61986/superbug-kills-face-hand-transplant-patient.html?utm_source=syn&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tagTue, 16 Jun 2009 2:11:48 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/61269/rogue-protein-spread-key-to-alzheimers.html?utm_source=syn&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tagA protein linked to Alzheimer’s can run amok in the brain, affecting healthy tissue, scientists have found. All nerve cells contain the tau protein, but a “rogue form” can lead to protein clumps in cells, called neurofibrillary tangles, that are believed to play a major role in Alzheimer’s disease, the...http://www.newser.com/story/61269/rogue-protein-spread-key-to-alzheimers.html?utm_source=syn&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tagMon, 08 Jun 2009 8:29:00 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/60177/inner-ear-woes-linked-to-many-elderly-tumbles.html?utm_source=syn&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tagResearchers have shed light on the frequent, debilitating, and sometimes life-threatening falls among the elderly: many tumbles may be caused by inner-ear imbalances, Time reports. Some 35% of Americans over 40 have such vestibular dysfunction; the condition affects more than 50% of Americans 60 and older. An inner-ear imbalance multiplies...http://www.newser.com/story/60177/inner-ear-woes-linked-to-many-elderly-tumbles.html?utm_source=syn&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tagWed, 27 May 2009 7:45:56 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/55455/have-an-itch-its-all-in-your-spine.html?utm_source=syn&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tagScratching an itch may be an everyday activity, but it’s also a longstanding conundrum to scientists who have never been sure if the urge originated in the skin or the brain. Until now. A new study from University of Minnesota neuroscientists appears to show that both the itch, and the...http://www.newser.com/story/55455/have-an-itch-its-all-in-your-spine.html?utm_source=syn&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tagMon, 06 Apr 2009 13:26:00 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/54718/cholesterol-drugs-cut-clot-risk.html?utm_source=syn&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tagCholesterol-lowering drugs showed sizable effects on patients in a new study, but not only in the realm of lowering heart attack and stroke risk. The statins, which are sold under the brand name Crestor, also dramatically cut the occurrence of potentially deadly blood clots in healthy people, reports the New...http://www.newser.com/story/54718/cholesterol-drugs-cut-clot-risk.html?utm_source=syn&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tagMon, 30 Mar 2009 11:47:31 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/54680/brit-firm-offers-bigger-breasts-from-stem-cells.html?utm_source=syn&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tagA new breast enhancement procedure using stem cells from stomach fat to grow larger breasts is being made available for the first time in the UK, reports the Times of London . The procedure has already been used in trials for use on breast cancer survivors. Now a controversial new operation...http://www.newser.com/story/54680/brit-firm-offers-bigger-breasts-from-stem-cells.html?utm_source=syn&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tagSun, 29 Mar 2009 6:55:08 CDT