Health & Medicine

  1. Health & Medicine

    Rehab for psychopaths

    Psychopaths often don’t fit movie stereotypes, but they share particular characteristics. New research shows that, contrary to popular thought, cognitive behavioral therapy can help some psychopaths stay out of prison.

    By Bruce Bower
  2. Health & Medicine

    Antibiotics an alternative to surgery for appendicitis

    Doctors could abandon routine surgery for uncomplicated cases of appendicitis, a new study suggests.

    By Meghan Rosen
  3. Genetics

    Pneumonia bacteria attacks lungs with toxic weaponry

    Some strains of the bacteria that causes pneumonia splash lung cells with hydrogen peroxide to mess with DNA and kill cells, a new study suggests.

    By Helen Thompson
  4. Health & Medicine

    Unlike moms, dads tend not to coo in squeaky voices

    American English-speaking moms dial up their pitch drastically when talking to their children, but dads’ voices tend to stay steady, a new study finds.

    By Meghan Rosen
  5. Life

    A protein variant can provide protection from deadly brain-wasting

    If cannibalism hadn’t stopped, a protective protein may have ended kuru anyway.

    By Tina Hesman Saey
  6. Health & Medicine

    Rotavirus vaccine is proving its worth

    Rotavirus vaccination cuts childhood intestinal infection hospitalizations in half.

    By Meghan Rosen
  7. Life

    MERS virus didn’t morph in its move to South Korea

    No obvious changes in the MERS virus account for its rapid spread in South Korea.

    By Tina Hesman Saey
  8. Life

    Tracing molecules’ movement in nails may help fight fungus

    Tracking chemicals through the human nail may provide valuable insight for drug development.

    By Sarah Schwartz
  9. Health & Medicine

    Fly spit protein holds back parasite infection in monkeys

    A protein called PdS15 found in the saliva of the sand fly that spreads leishmaniasis may be used in a vaccine to combat the parasitic scourge causing the illness.

    By Ashley Yeager
  10. Health & Medicine

    Deadly MERS spreads in small cluster in South Korea

    Thirty people have MERS virus in the South Korean outbreak, including China’s first case.

    By Tina Hesman Saey
  11. Health & Medicine

    An antidepressant may protect against Ebola

    Zoloft and a heart drug keep most mice alive after exposure to Ebola.

    By Nathan Seppa
  12. Health & Medicine

    Why breast-feeding really can be easier the second time around

    The body remembers how to make milk, a mouse study suggests. Something similar may happen in humans.

    By Laura Sanders