Vitamin D Acts via the Microbiome to Boost Cancer Immunity
Vitamin D Acts via the Microbiome to Boost Cancer Immunity
An essential nutrient and the gut flora, thought to have separate but important roles in the immune response, join forces.
An essential nutrient and the gut flora, thought to have separate but important roles in the immune response, join forces.
vitamin D
A Genetic Predisposition to Vitamin D Deficiency Contributes to Severe COVID-19
Iris Kulbatski, PhD | Jun 1, 2023 | 3 min read
Ana Teresa Freitas discussed how individual variation in vitamin D synthesis and metabolism influences susceptibility to upper respiratory viruses.
Vitamin D Likely Doesn’t Prevent COVID-19, Studies Find
Dan Robitzski | Sep 9, 2022 | 2 min read
The results from two large clinical trials don't support the idea that supplements of the vitamin bolster immune defenses against SARS-CoV-2.
Genetic Predisposition to Vitamin D Deficiency Contributes to Severe COVID-19
Iris Kulbatski, PhD | Aug 15, 2022 | 3 min read
Ana Teresa Freitas discusses how individual variation in vitamin D synthesis and metabolism influences susceptibility to upper respiratory viruses.
Vitamin D Pills Don’t Prevent Bone Fractures, Osteoporosis: Study
Dan Robitzski | Jul 28, 2022 | 2 min read
A large trial adds to a growing list of conditions once thought to be helped by vitamin D supplementation.
Vitamin D Deficiency Drives Opioid Addiction in Mice
Amanda Heidt | Jun 16, 2021 | 5 min read
Mice with low vitamin D had exaggerated craving for opioids and felt the drugs’ effects more strongly—results supported in part by human medical records—suggesting that supplements should be explored as treatments for opioid use disorders.
Pandemic Accelerates Trend Toward Remote Clinical Trials
Jef Akst | May 1, 2021 | 8 min read
Now more than ever before, recruiting patients for a research study doesn’t have to mean getting them to leave their homes.
Scientists’ Advice for Ways to Ward Off the Coronavirus
Shawna Williams | Oct 9, 2020 | 5 min read
We asked experts for measures people can take that may help boost defenses against COVID-19 and other respiratory diseases.
Trials Seek to Answer if Vitamin D Could Help in COVID-19
Abby Olena, PhD | Aug 12, 2020 | 6 min read
In clinical studies worldwide, researchers are testing the possibility that supplements of the vitamin could prevent or decrease the severity of SARS-CoV-2 infections.
Mutagens and Multivitamins
Megan Scudellari | Jun 1, 2014 | 9 min read
Not one to shy away from controversy, Bruce Ames has pitted himself against industry groups, environmentalists, and his peers through his work identifying DNA mutagens. And he’s not done yet.
Contributors
The Scientist Staff | Oct 1, 2012 | 3 min read
Meet some of the people featured in the October 2012 issue of The Scientist.
Tricky Trials
Mary Beth Aberlin | Mar 1, 2012 | 3 min read
Studies on safety, efficacy, or dosing of drugs in children, or on nutritional supplements, are not run-of-the-mill.
Suspected Effects of Vitamin D
Amy Maxmen | Mar 1, 2012 | 1 min read
Vitamin D has a variety of actions in the body. It binds to the vitamin D receptor (VDR), which then binds to the retinoid X receptor (RXR) and activates the expression of numerous genes.
Vitamin D on Trial
Amy Maxmen | Mar 1, 2012 | 10+ min read
Prevention trials for vitamins and supplements are notoriously difficult, but some researchers aren’t giving up on finding proof that vitamin D helps ward off disease.
Inside the mind of Fritz Kahn
Cristina Luiggi | Feb 1, 2011 | 1 min read
For more than 40 years, German gynecologist and legendary science writer Fritz Kahn (1888-1968) captured the imagination of an international audience with hundreds of wildly inventive illustrations and more than a dozen popular science books.
Light Therapy, circa 1939
Cristina Luiggi | Feb 1, 2011 | 2 min read
Around the turn of the 20th century—before sunscreens hit the market and the damaging effects of UV radiation were widely appreciated—physicians saw the sun mostly as a source of healing.