Health & Medicine

  1. Humans

    Putting BPA-based dental fillings in perspective

    A new study finds that children who have their cavities filled with a white composite resin known as bis-GMA appear to develop small but quantifiable drops in psychosocial function. To put it simply: Treated kids can become more moody, aggressive and generally less well adjusted.

    By Janet Raloff
  2. Health & Medicine

    White dental fillings may impair kids’ behavior

    Effects seen only for fillings that used bis-GMA, a resin derived from bisphenol A.

    By Janet Raloff
  3. Health & Medicine

    Catching a Cancer

    The official figure for the percentage of human cancers caused by viruses is around 20 percent — but most experts concede that number is largely an educated guess

    By Laura Beil
  4. Health & Medicine

    Proliferation protein goes rogue in lung cancer

    Rac1b might promote malignancy, could be a target for treatment.

    By Nathan Seppa
  5. Health & Medicine

    Memories clutter brain in amnesia

    Complex patterns slow down object recognition in patients with disorder.

    By Laura Sanders
  6. Health & Medicine

    Some brains may be primed for pain

    When people keep hurting long after an injury heals, a process similar to addiction may be at work.

    By Laura Sanders
  7. Health & Medicine

    Body and Brain

    Good touch, bad touch A leg caress can delight or feel totally skeevy, depending on who’s doing the caressing. A touch’s emotional baggage can be seen in the brain’s initial response to that touch, scientists report in the June 19 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Heterosexual men’s somatosensory cortices, brain regions that detect […]

    By Laura Sanders
  8. Animals

    Mosquitoes Remade

    Scientists reinvent agents of illness to become allies in fight against disease.

    By Susan Milius
  9. Health & Medicine

    Male contraceptive shows promise

    Two hormones in gels applied to the skin effectively lower sperm counts, a study finds.

    By Nathan Seppa
  10. Health & Medicine

    Endocrine Society Annual Meeting

    Highlights from the 94th annual meeting held June 23-26 in Houston.

    By Nathan Seppa
  11. Humans

    Ozone: Heart of the matter

    As reported this week, breathing elevated ozone levels can mess with the cardiovascular system, potentially putting vulnerable populations — such as the elderly and persons with diabetes or heart disease — at heightened risk of heart attack, stroke and sudden death from arrhythmias. Is this really new? Turns out it is.

    By Janet Raloff
  12. Health & Medicine

    Testosterone therapy takes off pounds

    A five-year study shows that men getting the hormone consistently lose weight.

    By Nathan Seppa