Health & Medicine

  1. Health & Medicine

    Creepy-Crawly Care

    Encouraging results from research on medical uses for maggots and leeches, coupled with recent government approval of both therapies, lend credibility to the idea that some live organisms deserve a place in the medical armamentarium.

    By Ben Harder
  2. Health & Medicine

    Nitric oxide may benefit damaged hearts

    A small study in mice suggests that inhaling nitric oxide may protect against tissue damage after a heart attack.

    By Damaris Christensen
  3. Health & Medicine

    Teasing out tea’s heart-healthy effect

    Drinking black tea makes a person's blood vessels dilate more easily, which may explain why drinking tea can protect against heart disease.

    By Damaris Christensen
  4. Health & Medicine

    Big meals boost heart attack risk

    Unusually heavy meals boost a person's chance of developing a heart attack, at least among those people who already have risk factors for heart disease.

    By Damaris Christensen
  5. Health & Medicine

    It’s that time. . .for heart attacks?

    A small study of young women already at high risk of having a heart attack suggests that heart attacks are most frequent when estrogen levels are low, soon after a woman's period begins.

    By Damaris Christensen
  6. Health & Medicine

    New role for cholesterol-lowering drugs

    Drugs that lower cholesterol benefit patients who have just had a heart attack or chest pains, regardless of the patient's initial cholesterol levels.

    By Damaris Christensen
  7. Health & Medicine

    Does vitamin A aid learning?

    A lack of Vitamin A may cause learning and memory problems, albeit potentially reversible ones.

    By John Travis
  8. Health & Medicine

    Old antibiotic takes on Alzheimer’s

    An antibiotic that binds copper and zinc may prevent brain deposits that cause Alzheimer's disease.

    By John Travis
  9. Health & Medicine

    Pesticide tied to Parkinson’s disease

    Rodents exposed to massive amounts of the pesticide rotenone develop a condition similar to Parkinson's disease.

    By John Travis
  10. Health & Medicine

    New sources and uses for stem cells

    Human skin and scalp tissue may provide a source of neural stem cells.

    By John Travis
  11. Health & Medicine

    Vaccine protects monkeys from Ebola virus

    A combination of a DNA vaccine and a vaccine based on a genetically modified common cold virus enables monkeys to resist Ebola virus, the first evidence that an Ebola vaccine works in primates.

    By Nathan Seppa
  12. Health & Medicine

    Is Vitamin D Fattening?

    People who don't consume enough calcium may find vitamin D sabotages their weight-control efforts by promoting fat gain.

    By Janet Raloff