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Saliva
Saliva is the watery and usually somewhat frothy substance produced in the mouths of some animals, including humans. Produced in salivary glands, saliva is 98% water, but it contains many important substances, including electrolytes, mucus, antibacterial compounds and various enzymes. The digestive functions of saliva include moistening food, and helping to create a food bolus, so it can be swallowed easily. Saliva contains the enzyme amylase that breaks some starches down into maltose and dextrin. Thus, digestion of food occurs within the mouth, even before food reaches the stomach.
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Health & Medicine News
June 11, 2026
June 11, 2026 A potentially dangerous tapeworm linked to severe, cancer-like disease has now been found in the Pacific Northwest, marking its first detection in wild animals along the U.S. West Coast. Researchers ...
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June 10, 2026 A common sign of hearing loss isn’t complete silence — it’s struggling to follow conversations, especially in noisy places. Experts say hearing loss and tinnitus, the ringing or buzzing many people experience, often start when delicate cells ...
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June 9, 2026 A surprising gut-heart connection may help explain why sleep apnea increases the risk of cardiovascular disease. In mice, disabling a bile acid receptor called FXR sharply reduced plaque buildup, opening the door to potential new treatments based on ...
June 9, 2026 Tea may help protect against heart disease, diabetes, cancer, cognitive decline, and age related muscle loss, according to a major review. But the way you drink it matters, since bottled and bubble teas often contain ingredients that can diminish ...
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June 9, 2026 The largest review ever conducted on opioids for acute pain found that these widely prescribed drugs often deliver only small, short-lived benefits. For many common conditions, including some surgeries and kidney stone pain, opioids performed no ...
June 8, 2026 Researchers have identified a new Alzheimer’s target and created an experimental compound that blocks a damaging process inside brain cells. In mice, the treatment slowed nerve cell loss, reduced Alzheimer’s-related changes, and even appeared to ...
Latest Headlines
updated 12:56 pm ET
June 8, 2026 A major long-term study of more than 54,000 adults found that where nitrate comes from may matter far more than how much you consume. People who got more nitrate from vegetables—roughly the amount ...
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June 7, 2026 A traditional Chinese medicinal root used for over a thousand years is attracting new scientific attention for its potential to combat hair loss. Studies suggest Polygonum multiflorum can block ...
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June 5, 2026 Scientists have successfully tested an AI-designed universal coronavirus vaccine in humans for the first time, finding it to be safe and well tolerated. The vaccine generated immune responses against ...
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