Fat in the heart may kill cells and eventually lead to heart failure. (p. 296)

The completed genome sequence of Staphylococcus aureus reveals transfers from other organisms of many of the antibiotic-resistance and virulence genes. (p. 296)

Three separate analyses of oral polio vaccine used in the 1950s in Africa deflate the theory that such a vaccine could have ignited the AIDS epidemic by containing virus-infected chimpanzee cells. (p. 296)

Gene therapy to replace a defective RPE65 gene succeeds in bringing sight to three blind dogs, suggesting such therapy might reverse Leber congenital amauosis, a rare condition in which children are blind from birth. (p. 296)

By distorting a protein in the toxin that makes the anthrax bacterium deadly, scientists have discovered a promising way to treat the disease and possibly even to prevent it with a vaccine. (p. 296)

The breast cancer drug tamoxifen can widen a narrowed coronary artery in men with heart problems. (p. 280)

Extended use of the illicit drug called MDMA or ecstasy exacerbated memory problems in users aged 17 to 31, none of whom reported alcohol dependence. (p. 280)

A compound called vasointestinal peptide, which binds to immune system T cells and macrophages, thwarts arthritis in mice. (p. 279)

Patterns of mild electrical disturbance in the brains of epilepsy patients appear to foreshadow a seizure hours before its onset. (p. 276)

A new vaccine links a sugar molecule found on the surface of the bacterium that causes typhoid fever with a genetically engineered version of the exotoxin protein, which arouses the immune system to churn out antibodies against the bacterium. (p. 260)

A vitaminlike substance called coenzyme Q10 helps people with familial cerebellar ataxia, a hereditary disorder that damages the spine and the part of the brain responsible for coordination. (p. 247)

The concentration in blood of one chemically transformed cholesterol-carrying molecule may signal to doctors when a patient's heart disease has dangerously worsened. (p. 245)

St. John's wort, a popular ingredient in herbal remedies, may not help people with moderate or severe forms of depression. (p. 244)

Infections from human papillomavirus (HPV) may increase the risk of certain cancers of the head and neck, especially of the tonsils. (p. 229)

People with diabetes face a high risk of heart attack and stroke. One apparent culprit is the chronic, low-grade inflammation that they develop. Megadoses of vitamin E can dramatically reduce that inflammation, a new study finds.Ishwarlal Jialal and Sridevi Devaraj of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas studied 47 men and women with adult-onset, or type II, diabetes and 25 healthy volunteers. The scientists sampled people’s blood before and after each received 1,200 international units of vitamin E daily for 3 months.Before treatment, the 23 people with major diabetes...