Health & Medicine

  1. Health & Medicine

    Virus Stopper: Herpes drug dampens HIV infection

    An antiviral drug commonly taken for genital herpes seems to suppress HIV in people harboring both pathogens.

    By Nathan Seppa
  2. Health & Medicine

    Hurt-Knees Rx: Surgical method promotes ligament regeneration

    A new artificial knee ligament that sparks regeneration of natural tissue could eventually make recovering from knee-repair surgery less painful and debilitating.

    By Patrick Barry
  3. Health & Medicine

    Inside job dissolves blood clot pronto

    An experimental procedure that delivers a clot-busting drug directly to the brain can bring on a remarkable turnaround in some stroke patients.

    By Nathan Seppa
  4. Health & Medicine

    Aspirin resistance carries real risks

    Some people are resistant to the blood-thinning effects of aspirin, making them more vulnerable to stroke or heart problems.

    By Nathan Seppa
  5. Health & Medicine

    Aneurysm risk may get passed down

    A heightened risk of having a brain aneurysm seems to be passed down in some families, and the life-threatening rupture of an aneurysm appears to strike earlier in a succeeding generation.

    By Nathan Seppa
  6. Health & Medicine

    Brains carry odd load after strokes

    People who die from a stroke have accumulations of a protein called amyloid beta in the thalamus, a part of the brain involved in motor control and sensory processing.

    By Nathan Seppa
  7. Health & Medicine

    Want that fiber regular or decaf?

    Coffee is a significant, and previously unrecognized, source of dietary fiber.

    By Janet Raloff
  8. Health & Medicine

    Don’t Push Babies’ Growth

    Overfeeding low-birthweight infants risks programming them for high blood pressure later in life.

    By Janet Raloff
  9. Health & Medicine

    Taking Cancer’s Fingerprint: Rapid genetic profiling for personalized therapy

    A new, faster way to identify cancer-causing mutations in the DNA of tumor cells may pave the way for the next generation of custom-tailored cancer therapies.

    By Patrick Barry
  10. Health & Medicine

    Clear the Way: Stenting opens jammed arteries in the brain

    Using a tiny mesh cylinder called a stent, doctors can prop open narrowed arteries in the brain much as they do in the heart.

    By Nathan Seppa
  11. Health & Medicine

    Small tweaks prevent 1918-flu transmission

    Just a couple of small genetic changes in a pandemic flu virus prevented it from passing efficiently between lab animals.

    By Christen Brownlee
  12. Health & Medicine

    Orexin-blocking pill speeds sleep onset

    A new compound that inhibits the activity of the alertness-promoting brain peptide orexin shows promise as a potential sleeping pill.

    By Ben Harder