Health & Medicine

  1. Health & Medicine

    Gene may keep breast cancer at bay

    Scientists have identified a gene that seems to protect against some common breast cancers.

    By Nathan Seppa
  2. Health & Medicine

    New inner ear hair cells grow in rat tissue

    Using a gene known to control hair-cell growth, researchers have grown hair cells in tissue taken from newborn rats' cochleas, raising hopes that inner ear damage may someday be reversible.

    By Nathan Seppa
  3. Health & Medicine

    Salt trial provokes DASH of skepticism

    Though a new study finds that dramatic salt restriction can lower blood pressure, even among people without hypertension, some critics challenge its value in setting new dietary guidelines for all adults.

    By Janet Raloff
  4. Health & Medicine

    Attack of the Clones: Immune cells single out melanoma tumors

    Scientists can extract immune system cells that recognize tumor cells from people with melanoma, culture the rare cells to greatly increase their number, and inject them into the patients, sometimes putting the brakes on cancer.

    By Nathan Seppa
  5. Health & Medicine

    Immune protein may stall HIV

    People who have HIV but don't progress to AIDS make extra perforin, a protein that helps kill infected cells.

    By Nathan Seppa
  6. Health & Medicine

    Duct tape sticks it to warts

    Treating a wart with a covering of duct tape seems to be more effective—and less painful—than removing the wart by freezing it with liquid nitrogen.

    By Damaris Christensen
  7. Health & Medicine

    Cooking Science

    The Exploratorium’s “Science of Cooking” Web pages offer all sorts of advice on how to improve your cooking–with a pinch of science. Information, recipes, and activities focus on spices, bread, meat, eggs, and more. Experience the thrill of pickle making and learn about a zesty dish called kimchi. Explore the science of cooking your holiday […]

    By Science News
  8. Health & Medicine

    Schizophrenia spurs imaging network

    Thanks to a federal grant, a team of researchers will establish a national database of brain images that will allow for expanded investigations of the neural basis of schizophrenia.

    By Bruce Bower
  9. Health & Medicine

    Old Drug, New Uses?

    A hormone called erythropoietin, long used to treat anemia, also seems to protect against nerve damage and holds promise as a new therapy for stroke and spinal cord injury.

    By Damaris Christensen
  10. Health & Medicine

    First Line of Defense: Hints of primitive antibodies

    After looking in primitive marine invertebrates that are considered to be close relatives to vertebrates, immunologists find families of genes that might provide clues as to how early immune systems evolved.

    By Carol Marzuola
  11. Health & Medicine

    Coconspirator? Genital herpes linked to cervical cancer

    Having a genital herpes infection doubles the risk of cervical cancer among women who have human papillomavirus.

    By Nathan Seppa
  12. Health & Medicine

    Nervous tics in the heart

    The irregular heartbeats sometimes triggered after a heart attack may be caused by abnormal nerve growth in heart tissue damaged by the attack.

    By Damaris Christensen