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A man whose gunshot wound created a window into his stomach enabled scientists to understand digestion. But the patient, a fur trapper named Alexis St. Martin, also transformed how physiologists studied the body, new research suggests. People "realized this was a revolutionary approach to doing physiology and medicine. You collect data on the clinical patient and then come to your conclusions," said study co-author Richard Rogers, a neuroscientist at the Pennington Biomedical Research Institute in Baton Rouge, La. Prior to that, doctors typically decided what was wrong with a patient or how a bodily function worked often based on 1,600-year old medical ideas of Galen before ever setting eyes on them, Rogers said. [ Image Gallery: The BioDigital Human Body ] The findings were presented Tuesday (April 23) at the Experimental Biology 2013 conference in Boston, Mass. Gory wound Physiologist William Beaumont, an army doctor, was stationed in Fort Mackinac...

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia , accounting for between 50 and 80 percent of all cases. Researchers are closer than ever to finding a cure, but sometimes prevention is the best medicine. There are some easy things you can do to prevent developing Alzheimer’s: • Add cinnamon to your diet – consuming a teaspoon of this spice has been shown to block the production of proteins in the brain that contribute to the onset of Alzheimer’s. • Drink apple juice – it boosts the production of a chemical compound in the brain associated with learning, memory, mood and muscle movement. • Drink coffee – it acts as an anti-inflammatory that can block cholesterol buildup in the brain. One large study showed that men and women who drank three to five cups of coffee a day reduced their chances of dementia by 65 percent. • Socialize more – studies show that a busy social life can improve your cognitive abilities. • Protect your vision – your eyes are ...

Merck & Co. said Wednesday that the Food and Drug Administration awarded breakthrough therapy status to its cancer therapy lambrolizumab, which could speed up development of the drug. Merck said the drug received breakthrough status as a treatment for advanced melanoma. Merck recently started a mid-stage clinical trial of lambrolizumab and said it is also studying the drug as a treatment for other types of cancer. The company said the drug is designed to use the immune system to fight cancer. The FDA created the breakthrough therapy program in 2012 as a way to speed up the approval process for drugs that could be significant improvements in the treatment of serious or life-threatening diseases from what's currently on the market. Shares of Merck lost 50 cents to $48.13 in afternoon trading.

The big question posed by researchers is whether fish intake in early childhood is associated with reducing the risk of allergies, and does this effect last during childhood? The study's authors in Sweden studied more than 3,000 young children and looked at the effect of regular fish ingestion and a lessening of the number of children with allergies, such as seasonal, indoor allergies and eczema. This study showed that children who consumed at least two servings of fish monthly were up to 75 percent less likely to have allergy symptoms. Although most studies surrounding fish intake and allergies have been observational, there has been a shift in the thinking around introducing children to diverse foods at a young age. Surprisingly, diets rich in fish (for children beginning around age one) are quite common in certain areas of the world. One such area is the Mediterranean. The Mediterranean diet stresses the importance of a diet focused mainly on: fruits, veget...

Going bald may be more than just a frustrating sign of aging; it may also increase a man’s risk of heart disease. A new study of nearly 37,000 Japanese men found that men who were balding were 32 percent more likely to have coronary heart disease than their full-haired counterparts, BBC News reported. The researchers, however, noted that the risks were far less than those from smoking or obesity and that men should focus on losing weight rather than their thinning hair. Published in the online journal BMJ Open, the study revealed that men who had hair going thin on the crown were more likely to have coronary heart disease.  However, men with receding hairlines did not have an increased risk. "We found a significant, though modest, link between baldness, at least on the top of the head, and risk for coronary heart disease,” lead author Dr. Tomohide Yamada, of the University of Tokyo, told BBC News. Yamada advised men who were experiencing hair loss on the t...

Fat keeps you warm, regulates your body function and stores energy.  But too much of a good thing can actually be bad. It is well known that fat can lead to obesity and chronic diseases, but eating the right foods can help your body burn it. Here are some to try: Beans are filled with protein and fiber, which help you lose weight without feeling hungry. Fiber takes a long time to digest, so your body will be busy burning it off for a while. Add eggs to your diet. Studies show people who eat them in the morning are more likely to drop pounds than people who eat carb-only breakfasts. Bring on the avocados: They are packed with mono-unsaturated fats, which will lower your bad cholesterol. Your body will burn off avocados quickly, so they won’t stick to your hips. Foods with omega-3s, like salmon, are vital for burning fat. They contain the hormone leptin, which directly affects your metabolism. Also, add green tea to your shopping list. Studies show su...