Health & Medicine

  1. Health & Medicine

    Bright Lights, Big Cancer

    A woman's blood provides better sustenance for breast cancer just after she's been exposed to bright light than when she's been in steady darkness.

    By Ben Harder
  2. Health & Medicine

    Alzheimer Clue: Busy brain connections may have downside

    Brain areas that are chronically activated have excess amyloid beta, the waxy protein associated with Alzheimer's disease.

    By Nathan Seppa
  3. Health & Medicine

    Protein exposes long-term risk from heart problems

    Elevated blood concentrations of a certain protein can signal risk of death in people with heart problems.

    By Nathan Seppa
  4. Health & Medicine

    Mixing Vessel: Air pollution helps cholesterol clog arteries

    When paired with a diet high in fat, breathing polluted air on a regular basis accelerates the accumulation of dangerous plaques in arteries.

    By Ben Harder
  5. Health & Medicine

    Protein predicts sickle-cell danger

    A biological marker of heart trouble can be used to identify sickle-cell anemia patients who are at greatest risk of developing a serious, disease-related complication.

    By Ben Harder
  6. Health & Medicine

    Transfusions harm some heart patients

    Patients who undergo coronary-bypass surgery frequently receive unnecessary blood transfusions as part of their follow-up care.

    By Ben Harder
  7. Health & Medicine

    Old drug, new trick

    The drug rapamycin, now used in transplants, may make chemotherapy for acute lymphoblastic leukemia more effective.

    By Ben Harder
  8. Health & Medicine

    Molecule marks leukemia cells

    Researchers can now single out malignant cells in the bone marrow of patients with acute myeloid leukemia by using an antibody that latches on to a newfound cell protein.

    By Ben Harder
  9. Health & Medicine

    Rare marrow cells tackle deadly immune reaction

    Researchers have developed a new technique to counter graft-versus-host disease, a common complication of treating blood cancers with marrow-cell transfusions.

    By Ben Harder
  10. Health & Medicine

    Ebola may travel on the wing

    Fruit bats can carry the Ebola virus, suggesting that they may spread it in Africa.

    By Nathan Seppa
  11. Health & Medicine

    Breathing Easier with Vitamin D

    Making sure that our bodies have ample vitamin D slows or limits a number of degenerative changes, including diminished lung function.

    By Janet Raloff
  12. Health & Medicine

    Tomorrow’s Clot Stoppers? New anticoagulants show promise

    Two experimental drugs could become alternatives to warfarin and a class of other products that are used widely to protect against potentially fatal blood clots.

    By Ben Harder