Health & Medicine

  1. Health & Medicine

    Childhood Vitamin D—A Dark Side?

    Vitamin D may explain a child's summertime boost in lead absorption, new data indicate.

    By Janet Raloff
  2. Health & Medicine

    Risk Factor: Throat cancer linked to virus spread by sex

    Cancer of the throat and tonsils can arise from infection with a sexually transmitted virus.

    By Nathan Seppa
  3. Health & Medicine

    A smart pill for seniors?

    A dietary supplement combo boosts older adults' performance on simple mental tests.

    By Janet Raloff
  4. Health & Medicine

    This trick boosts cancer’s spread

    A compound that helps keep cells organized and stitched into tissues may play a role in the survival of cancer cells that have seeded distant tissues in the body.

    By Janet Raloff
  5. Health & Medicine

    More Than Bit Players: Snippets of RNA might sway pancreatic cancer

    Small pieces of genetic material called microRNA might provide a preview of pancreatic cancer's aggressiveness and offer targets for combating the usually deadly disease.

    By Nathan Seppa
  6. Health & Medicine

    Less Is More (Bone): Yearly osteoporosis drug reduces fractures

    Older women with osteoporosis who received yearly infusions of a drug that prevents bone loss had far fewer fractures than did peers who didn't get the drug.

    By Brian Vastag
  7. Health & Medicine

    Gardeners’ Friend Causes a Stink

    An invasive ladybug species is contributing a bad taste to wines made from infested grapes.

    By Janet Raloff
  8. Health & Medicine

    Diabetes from Depression: Older adults face dual risk

    Adults 65 and older who report depressive symptoms are 50 to 60 percent more likely to develop diabetes than are their peers.

    By Brian Vastag
  9. Health & Medicine

    Inherited Burden? Early menarche in moms tied to obesity in kids

    Women who reach puberty at an early age are more likely to have children who are overweight.

    By Nathan Seppa
  10. Health & Medicine

    No heart risk from hormones taken near menopause

    Contrary to some earlier indications, hormone replacement therapy might not impart heart risks to women who take it during their 50s.

    By Nathan Seppa
  11. Health & Medicine

    Tenacious STD: Drug-resistant gonorrhea is spreading

    Responding to a surge in tough-to-treat gonorrhea, the CDC has stopped recommending Cipro-class antibiotics for the disease.

    By Brian Vastag
  12. Health & Medicine

    Visual Clarity: People with MS maintain eyesight with drug

    A drug for multiple sclerosis seems to prevent subtle vision loss in many patients.

    By Nathan Seppa