Hepatology

Scientists say they’ve finally answered an age-old question: Just why is our pee yellow? In new research, a team found the enzyme produced by gut bacteria that plays a major role in turning our urine mellow. Curiosity aside, the discovery may actually help scientists better understand the gut microbiome and how it can contribute to certain health conditions, like jaundice in newborns.Let’s Eat a Chocolate Xbox ControllerUrine is the finale of our body’s natural drainage system. It’s made out of excess water and waste…

A transmission electron microscopic (TEM) image of hepatitis B virus (HBV) particles.Image: Erskine Palmer/CDCThe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is now advising people to get screened for hepatitis B at least once in their lives. Though the infection can be managed with antivirals and prevented with a highly effective childhood vaccine, many Americans today are still living with chronic hepatitis B, which can raise the risk of liver damage and cancer. Two-thirds of these Americans may not even know they have…

Ayla Bashir with her parents. Photo: CHEO Media HouseA team of doctors in the U.S. and Canada are reporting a medical first. They were able to start treating a child’s rare and often deadly genetic condition while she was still a fetus in the womb—the same condition that claimed the lives of her siblings. Now 16 months old, the child, named Ayla, appears to be developing as expected, though she will continue to need ongoing treatment.Star Wars: Shatterpoint Announcement Trailer02:27The First Things To Do In VR, Part…

Surgeons performing the liver transplant in May 2021. Photo: USZA human liver deemed not viable for transplant has been repaired by an innovative perfusion machine and subsequently transplanted into a patient who continues to do well a year after the groundbreaking surgery. The technique, called “ex situ normothermic perfusion,” was developed by a team of researchers from University Hospital Zurich, ETH Zurich, Wyss Zurich, and the University of Zurich. A scientificpaper detailing the remarkable achievement was published…