Health & Medicine

  1. Health & Medicine

    The two faces of prion proteins

    Scientists are learning more about the protein behind mad cow and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, including how to interfere with the protein’s production in the brains of mice.

    By Rachel Ehrenberg
  2. Climate

    Another climate ailment

    Global warming may turn out to be more than just a pain in the neck: Rising average temperatures could trigger an increased prevalence of kidney stones.

    By Sid Perkins
  3. Health & Medicine

    One Downside to Sushi

    Uncooked fish can host detectable concentrations of potentially toxic chemicals — pollutants that cooking can make disappear,

    By Janet Raloff
  4. Health & Medicine

    Repairing muscle from the cell up

    Skeletal muscle stem cells can fix weakling muscles in mice and could eventually lead to treatments for muscular dystrophy.

    By Tia Ghose
  5. Health & Medicine

    Location matters

    Scientists find the role of dopamine varies from one end of a brain region to another.

    By Amy Maxmen
  6. Health & Medicine

    Risk profile for diabetes

    People who harbor excess amounts of the compound fetuin-A face a heightened risk of developing diabetes.

    By Nathan Seppa
  7. Health & Medicine

    Cancer and college

    Highly educated people have reaped the benefits of cancer prevention and treatment. Death rates in this group have fallen, but people with less education have missed out on these gains.

    By Nathan Seppa
  8. Health & Medicine

    Animal rights and wrongs

    Featured blog: Some animal-rights activists are taking a page out of the anti-abortionists' playbook and now bully animal researchers at home.

    By Janet Raloff
  9. Health & Medicine

    Shared recipes for longer life

    Being female and eating a calorie-restricted diet contribute to long lifespan in animals, and the two traits may share molecular mechanisms.

    By Patrick Barry
  10. Math

    Strategy to stop a pandemic

    A limited supply of vaccine shots, if targeted well, could stop the spread of disease.

    By Davide Castelvecchi
  11. Health & Medicine

    Sick and down

    To fight off an infection or illness, the body shifts into a slow-down mode that mirrors some symptoms of depression. In fact, scientists now think the immune response itself may even cause the mood disorder.

    By Amy Maxmen
  12. Health & Medicine

    SIDS and serotonin

    Study finds brain chemical deficiency causing sudden death in mice could be linked to SIDS

    By Ashley Yeager