Most people around the world are infected at some point with the Epstein Barr virus, or EBV. It usually causes mild illness or no symptoms at all and then stays quietly in the body for life. Yet in a small number of people, EBV is linked to cancers such as…
Autoimmune diseases—like thyroid disease, lupus, or rheumatoid arthritis—happen when the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks itself. For years, doctors have thought this was mainly due to the immune system becoming “overactive” or poorly regulated. But this new study suggests something deeper—and more surprising—is going on. Scientists have discovered that in…
Researchers have identified a rare genetic variation that seems to reduce how much people smoke, offering a fresh clue in the fight against tobacco addiction. The study, published in Nature Communications, looked at nearly 38,000 smokers and found that people with certain variants of a gene called CHRNB3 tend to…
