Sugary Drinks May Cause Gout

Gout, a painful disease, is more commonly found in men. However, new studies suggest that sugary drinks, such as carbonated soda, that contain fructose might pose a threat to even women, and cause a higher occurrence of gout. However, this threat may be modest, given the low rate of gout in the general population.

JAMA

Richard Feynman Explains Why Some Things Cannot Be Explained

Physicist Richard Feynman (who worked on the Manhattan Project) explains why it is sometimes hard for someone with expansive knowledge of a subject to explain something thought to be relatively simple to someone who has no knowledge of the subject. While analogies are fine on a fundamental level, they don't really explain why certain things work the way they do.

Feynman Interview

New "Mosaic HIV-1" Vaccines May Vary Immune Response

Because HIV is such a variable virus, which changes so rapidly, it is important to use a variety of tactics against it. Mosaic vaccines do just this, in broadening how to fight disease from the inside.

Nature

Immunotherapy for Cancer Patients Becoming more of an Option, but expensive

Immunotherapy in melanoma patients is becoming more successful, sometimes completely eliminating the disease. However, this therapy is highly individual, and requires special conditions, which makes it expensive, and oftentimes, lengthy,

Science Mag

Including Ice and Water in the same Thermal System Explains Melting in Greenland

Liquid water sitting upon ice allows thermal energy (heat) to pass through it, and oftentimes allows for the melting of ice sheets. By including this fact in the theory of global warming, one is able to explain the rapid reaction of glacier areas to heat.

AGU

Gene May be Related to Depression

The p11 gene, which is a serotonin receptor-binding protein, may be the key to preventing depression. Lab mice who were mutated, deleting this gene, showed more signs of depression, and using gene therapy might restore this gene from being weakened by an adeno-associated virus.

Science Mag

New Implant Might Help Patients Kick Opioid Dependency

An implant containing buprenorphine, a semi-synthetic opioid, might be the answer to weaning opioid-dependent people off the highly addictive group of drugs, which includes morphine, codeine, heroin, hydrocodone and oxycodone. This study from the Journal of the American Medical Association shows that patients with the implant were twice as likely to not use opioids, and showed less withdrawal symptoms than the placebo group. However, the use of opioids in the medicated group was still around 60%, and errors in the urine test should be taken into account.

Buprenorphine Implatns Show Improvement in Opioid-Dependent Patients