Health & Medicine

Mapping the Genome Jungle

From a bat’s wings to an elephant’s cancer resistance, an interdisciplinary team of scientists at University of Utah Health are using animals’ unique traits to pinpoint regions of the human genome that might affect health. The results of this project are available in the March 6 issue of the journal Cell Reports. The research team […]


With Cost Removed, Women Choose More Effective Contraceptive Methods

Contraception cannot be handled with a one-size fits all approach. Women often try several types of birth control before finding one that works best. A new study at University of Utah Health finds that cost often limits women’s access to the most effective contraceptive methods, like intrauterine devices (IUDs) and subdermal implants. David Turok, associate […]


Cascading Inflammation Associated with Lyme Arthritis Linked to Overactive Immune Response

Every year, more than 300,000 Americans contract Lyme disease, an infection caused by Borrelia burgdorferi, a bacterium transferred during a tick bite. In a small percentage of patients, infection symptoms, including arthritis, persist despite antibiotic treatment. Scientists at University of Utah Health believe they identified a mechanism that activates T cells, a key component of […]


New App Motivates Type 2 Diabetes Patients to Be More Active

As the holidays draw to a close, 29 million Americans with type 2 diabetes had to navigate the minefield of treats, drinks, and dinners. Many patients have stepped up to meet the challenge of moderating their diet, but fewer embrace the benefits of physical activity in controlling their blood sugar. A research team led by […]


Wasatch Front inversions cause more than 200 cases of pneumonia each year

Air pollution trapped along the Wasatch Front by winter inversions are estimated to send more than 200 people to the emergency room with pneumonia each year, according to a study by University of Utah Health and Intermountain Healthcare. Bad air quality especially erodes the health of adults over age 65, a population particularly vulnerable to […]


Surprise: A Virus-Like Protein is Important for Cognition and Memory

A protein involved in cognition and storing long-term memories looks and acts like a protein from viruses. The protein, called Arc, has properties similar to those that viruses use for infecting host cells, and originated from a chance evolutionary event that occurred hundreds of millions of years ago. The prospect that virus-like proteins could be […]


New U podcast: Secrets of the Campus Cadavers

On April 20, 2016, University of Utah historical architect Charles Shepherd found something unexpected at an excavation site on Presidents Circle. At first glance in the morning light, he thought it might have been a rock. Closer inspection made it clear, though, that it was a human skull. The skull was just one of more […]


Meet the tiny machines in cells that massacre viruses

When viruses infect the body’s cells, those cells face a difficult problem. How can they destroy viruses without harming themselves? Scientists at University of Utah Health have found an answer by visualizing a tiny cellular machine that chops the viruses’ genetic material into bits. Their research shows how the machine detects the intruders and processes […]


Researchers Explore the Ocean for Alternatives to Opioids

What does a marine snail’s ability to kill prey with two shots of venom have to do with the opioid epidemic ravaging the United States? More than you could imagine. A multi-disciplinary team of researchers with expertise in biology, anesthesiology, pharmacology, and medicinal chemistry at U of U Health received a grant from the Department […]


Craig H. Neilsen Foundation donates $47.5 million for new rehab hospital at U

The Craig H. Neilsen Foundation will donate $47.5 million for a new, state-of-the-art rehabilitation hospital as part of the redevelopment and modernization of the University of Utah’s health sciences campus. The 75-bed hospital, to be named the Craig H. Neilsen Rehabilitation Hospital, will be one of the most advanced rehabilitation facilities in the nation and […]