Kamal Nahas

Kamal Nahas

Live Science Contributor

Kamal Nahas is a freelance contributor based in Oxford, U.K. His work has appeared in New Scientist, Science and The Scientist, among other outlets, and he mainly covers research on evolution, health and technology. He holds a PhD in pathology from the University of Cambridge and a master's degree in immunology from the University of Oxford. He currently works as a microscopist at the Diamond Light Source, the U.K.'s synchrotron. When he's not writing, you can find him hunting for fossils on the Jurassic Coast.

Latest articles by Kamal Nahas

Photo of a white woman's hand holding a small white pill over a table, on which is a glass of water.

What causes the placebo effect?

By Kamal Nahas last updated

Experts look to psychology and physiology to understand why people sometimes feel better after receiving a sham treatment.

Neuroscience
a young child with blonde hair sits on a bed covered in a blanket while blowing his nose into a tissue.

When did humans start getting the common cold?

By Kamal Nahas published

Prehistoric cold viruses are hard to find in the historical record, but scientists have unearthed some evidence in ancient human teeth.

Viruses, Infections & Disease
young teen boy using a spray deoderant on his left armpit while he looks in a bathroom mirror

Chemicals that make babies smell sweet and teens smell 'goat-like' revealed

By Kamal Nahas published

Aroma researchers worked out which chemicals in body odor differ between infants and teens who have hit puberty.

Aging
close up of a woman's face as she winces and holds a finger to one ear, as if trying to tune out a noise

What causes tinnitus, and can it be treated?

By Kamal Nahas published

That ringing that only you can hear can become really bothersome if it persists. Here's what triggers tinnitus, plus how you can manage the condition.

Health
doctor wearing a surgical mask stands in front of a monitor while performing a colonoscopy on a patient that's out of frame. A nurse in scrubs stands in the background with a tablet

Gut bacteria linked to colorectal cancer in young people

By Kamal Nahas published

Certain gut bacteria reside in colorectal tumors, but the species differ depending on a patient's age, offering hope that our gut tenants could serve as early warning signs of cancer in young people.

Cancer
close up of an adult's hand holding a thermometer that reads 100.4. A young boy can be seen in the background under a blanket, as if ill

How do fevers kill germs?

By Kamal Nahas published

You may have heard that fevers help fight infections. But how, exactly, do they do it?

Bacterial & Fungal Infections
Close-up of a woman's hands, one holding two oblong white tablets, resembling tylenol, and the other holding a glass of water

How does Tylenol work?

By Kamal Nahas published

Exactly how Tylenol — also called acetaminophen or paracetamol — relieves pain continues to evade scientists, but it's clear the drug interacts with one key set of enzymes.

Medicine & Drugs
photo shows a rat in the center of an area with images projected on its walls. The rat is hooked up to an apparatus that's suspended above its head

Can rats 'imagine'? Rodents show signs of imagination while playing VR games

By Kamal Nahas published

Rats immersed in a VR world played games that could be won only by using imaginative route planning, scientists report.

Neuroscience
Computer illustration of a large orange and red bacteriophage, a type of virus, on a large green bacterial cell.

Could bacteria-killing viruses ever prevent sexually transmitted infections?

By Kamal Nahas published

The CDC will soon recommend that some people take a "morning-after" antibiotic to lower their risk of STIs. But someday, it's possible that bacteria-killing viruses could do this without driving antibiotic resistance.

Medicine & Drugs
close up of young woman with pimples around her mouth holding up a chocolate bar as if to eat it

Can sugar cause acne?

By Kamal Nahas published

Because multiple factors can provoke acne, it's difficult to tease apart sugar's role.

Food & Drink
Earwax buildup on a set of earbuds.

Why do we have earwax?

By Kamal Nahas published

When it's not causing problems, earwax is good for your health and should be left alone.

Health
in the foreground, we see a woman wearing atheletic clothing and smiling as she lifts a dumbell off the ground while holding a plank position. Two men are completing the same exercise in the background

Why is it harder for some people to build muscle than others?

By Kamal Nahas published

How do muscle cells grow after a workout? And how do your genetics affect your experience as a gymgoer?

Exercise
black and white microscopic image shows two swirly oval shapes with black dots speckling their surfaces

Scientists stumble upon a new part of a cell in one of the most studied animals on Earth

By Kamal Nahas published

Scientists found a previously unrecognized organelle in fruit flies, a thoroughly studied organism.

Animals
illustration of single-cell parasites floating through the bloodstream alongside blood cells

'Mind-control' parasite Toxoplasma hides from the immune system with 2 key genes

By Kamal Nahas published

A single-cell parasite relies on two genes that boost each other's activity to switch into "defense mode" when attacked by the immune system.

Viruses, Infections & Disease
illustration shows the gene-editing tool CRISPR depicted as a large claw-shaped protein complex. CRISPR is snipping into a long DNA molecule

CRISPR-edited fat shrank tumors in mice. Someday, it could work in people, scientists say.

By Kamal Nahas published

Genetically modified fat can be transplanted into mice to shrink mouse and transplanted human tumors, but this novel cancer therapy still needs to be tested in human trials.

Cancer
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