Coming Soon: A Tiny Robot You Swallow to Help You Stay Healthy

THURSDAY, Dec. 13, 2018 -- The future of medicine may be here: Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology say they've developed an ingestible capsule that can be monitored outside the body for health data, using Bluetooth wireless technology.

The capsule could deliver drugs as well as sense the condition of its surroundings in the gut, including infections or allergic reactions, the researchers explained.

Could You Have Silent Gallstones?

FRIDAY, Dec. 14, 2018 -- As many as 20 million Americans have gallstones. Most don't have any symptoms, but not all will escape a gallstone attack.

The gallbladder is a small organ in the upper right abdomen. It's a reservoir for bile, the fluid made by the liver to aid digestion. Experts aren't sure why, but gallstones form from imbalances in the substances that make up bile, such as cholesterol. You can have one or hundreds of gallstones, and they can be as small as a grain of sand or the size of a golf ball.

Goodbye 'Gluten-Free'? Celiac Disease Vaccine May Make It Possible

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 14, 2018 -- People with celiac disease must follow a very restrictive diet, but an experimental vaccine may offer many of them the freedom to eat more normally.

Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder. If someone with the disease eats gluten -- a protein found in wheat, barley and rye -- it can damage the small intestine.

A Healthy Diet Is Never Too Late With Colon Cancer

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 31, 2018 -- A healthy diet may lower your risk of death from colon cancer, even if you wait until after you're diagnosed with the disease, new research suggests.

The study included more than 2,800 colon cancer patients. Those whose eating habits before their cancer diagnosis most closely matched American Cancer Society dietary guidelines had a 22 percent lower risk of death during the study period than those with unhealthy diets before diagnosis.

You Probably Have 'Microplastics' in Your Poop: Study

TUESDAY, Oct. 23, 2018 -- There's a good chance a dose of tiny plastic particles has taken up residence in your gut, a new, small study argues.

Microplastics, as they are called, were found in stool samples from a handful of volunteers located across Europe and Asia, researchers report.