Health & Medicine

  1. Health & Medicine

    Bug bites suggest new stroke drug

    Changing a human enzyme so that it resembles one from blood-sucking insects may lead to a new treatment for strokes.

    By John Travis
  2. Health & Medicine

    Is ‘drink plenty of fluids’ good advice?

    Definitive studies need to determine whether increasing fluid intake during respiratory infections is really a good idea, says a team of researchers.

    By Ben Harder
  3. Health & Medicine

    Suspected Carcinogen Speeds Through People’s Bodies

    A commonly used but potentially carcinogenic flavoring compound stays in people's bodies only briefly.

    By Edna Francisco
  4. Health & Medicine

    Gap in the Defense: Brain cancer patients short on valuable protein

    Brain tumor cells have a dearth of an obscure protein called ING4, whose sister compounds have shown anticancer effects.

    By Nathan Seppa
  5. Health & Medicine

    Ear piercings cause illness, disfigurement

    Piercing the upper-ear cartilage under nonsterile conditions can leave a person vulnerable to a Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection, as happened in Oregon in 2000.

    By Nathan Seppa
  6. Health & Medicine

    Heart patients gain from steep cholesterol drop

    Heart patients can lessen their risk of a heart attack and increase their odds of survival by aggressively reducing harmful low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol in their blood.

    By Nathan Seppa
  7. Health & Medicine

    Drug for migraines helps some patients

    An experimental drug that slows blood flow in the brain knocks out migraine headaches in some people.

    By Nathan Seppa
  8. Health & Medicine

    Formula for Failure

    A bacterium that has been known to cause rare, yet fatal infections in infants appears to be more widespread than scientists have realized.

    By Edna Francisco
  9. Health & Medicine

    Meat of the Matter: Fish, flesh feed gout, but milk counters it

    Nutrition research supports the ancient notion that a diet rich in meat contributes to the development of gout, a form of arthritis common in men.

    By Ben Harder
  10. Health & Medicine

    Shutting Off an On Switch: Novel drugs slow two cancers in mice

    By shutting down a signaling molecule on cancerous cells, scientists have found a way to slow multiple myeloma and fibrosarcoma, tests in animals show.

    By Nathan Seppa
  11. Health & Medicine

    Two arthritis drugs work best in tandem

    Two anti-inflammatory drugs for rheumatoid arthritis—methotrexate and etanercept—work better together than either does individually.

    By Nathan Seppa
  12. Health & Medicine

    Born to Heal

    The controversial strategy of screening embryos to produce donors for siblings raises hopes and presents new ethical dilemmas.

    By Ben Harder