Alternative Medicine

Billionaire technologist Elon Musk announced this week that his company Neuralink has implanted its brain-computer interface into a human for the first time. The recipient was “recovering well,” Musk wrote on his social media platform X (formerly Twitter) on Monday evening, adding that initial results showed “promising neuron spike detection”—a reference to brain cells’ electrical activity.Each wireless Neuralink device contains a chip and electrode arrays of more than 1,000 superthin, flexible conductors that a surgical…

January 22, 20244min readBad diets, stress, impaired sleep and aging can’t be reversed by juicing, healing crystals or influencer-endorsed pills. Don’t buy themBy David Robert Grimes January offers a bounty for purveyors of snake oil. In the wake of holiday season excesses, a slew of detox diets, immune-boosting concoctions and an avalanche of dubious supplements emerge to profit on our insecurities. Across social media, influencers and celebrities push a litany of miraculous medicines—to our collective detriment.A…

A recent study on over 300 chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) patients found that acupuncture might provide limited symptom relief, but the clinical significance remains unclear. An accompanying editorial highlights acupuncture’s potential in treating non-pain conditions and the need for broader clinical openness to its use.A randomized controlled study involving over 300 participants diagnosed with chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU), or hives, suggested that acupuncture might provide some relief from symptoms. However,…

New research shows qiliqiangxin, a traditional Chinese medicine, effectively reduces hospitalizations and cardiovascular deaths in heart failure patients with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). Credit: SciTechDaily.com Qiliqiangxin, a traditional Chinese herb blend, effectively reduces heart failure hospitalizations and deaths, proving safe and beneficial in a large-scale clinical trial. The traditional Chinese medicine qiliqiangxin reduces hospitalization for heart failure and cardiovascular death in patients with heart…

A research study reveals that Ayurvedic plants like ashwagandha and Indian pennywort can prevent depression-like symptoms in fruit flies caused by chronic stress. Chlorogenic acid, found in these plants, plays a crucial role in enhancing stress resilience. Mainz University and the US-American BENFRA Center have jointly demonstrated the effect of botanical products used in traditional Asiatic medicine on depressive states. Chronic exposure to stress can lead to the development of depression-like disorders that manifest…

Drugs like Ozempic have become so popular among people seeking to lose weight that they are now in short supply for patients with diabetes who depend on the medicines. Diabetes patients said they are spending hours trying to find nearby pharmacies that have their prescriptions in stock. If they don’t, some patients have had to reduce dosing of Ozempic and similar drugs to stretch out their supplies, or switch to alternative drugs. Drugs like Ozempic have become so popular among people…

Mindfulness meditation is as effective at reducing anxiety as a commonly prescribed antidepressant, according to a study published in a major journal on Wednesday.The study, led by researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center, is the first randomized clinical trial to compare the effectiveness of mindfulness meditation with the antidepressant escitalopram. The results were published in JAMA Psychiatry, a peer-reviewed journal.The adult participants in the mindfulness group practiced 45-minute daily meditations…

The Food and Drug Administration confirmed a shortage of Adderall and generic versions of the drug, saying patients could use alternative treatments until supply issues are resolved. The FDA this week said what patients, manufacturers and retailers have been signaling for months: that patients with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder are having trouble obtaining the medications that can help them focus. The agency said it was working with U.S. manufacturers of the drugs…

Facebook and its parent company, Meta, don’t exactly have a great track record when it comes to combatting online disinformation. At the start of the covid-19 pandemic, Meta came out publicly against advertisements pedaling questionable health information and things like vaccine misinformation, yet they persist. Advertisements for unproven, debunked, and even harmful cancer treatments continue to appear on Facebook and Instagram, according to a report from MIT Technology Review. The ads still show up on Meta’s social…

INTRO: This is Scientific American’s 60-Second Science. I'm Ashleigh Papp. Papp: Mountain lions are now posing for their close ups. Researchers based in the greater Yellowstone National Park area have figured out a new way to identify these cats by using facial recognition. And this method is proving to be a better way to monitor these highly elusive creatures. Alexander: Mountain lions are just really, really hard to directly observe. They're just so cryptic and secretive. And so we've had to find these non-invasive…