Health & Medicine

  1. Health & Medicine

    Light blow to chest can be fatal

    A light blow to the heart can cause cardiac arrest, even when the blow isn't hard enough to cause injury.

    By Nathan Seppa
  2. Health & Medicine

    Statins, yes; antioxidants, no

    Taking cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins improves the health outlook for patients at risk of heart attack even when these patients aren't considered obvious candidates to receive the treatment.

    By Nathan Seppa
  3. Health & Medicine

    Cuff therapy boosts growth factor

    Cuffs that squeeze the legs of heart patients may relieve angina by boosting growth factors, which help build new blood vessels needed to nourish oxygen-starved heart muscle.

    By Nathan Seppa
  4. Health & Medicine

    Enzyme fighter works as well as tamoxifen

    The drug anastrozole generally works as well in fighting advanced breast cancer as better-known tamoxifen, and even surpasses it in certain patients.

    By Nathan Seppa
  5. Health & Medicine

    Fragile X protein reveals its RNA partners

    The master gene behind fragile X syndrome—the most common inherited form of mental retardation—encodes a protein that binds to strands of messenger RNA.

    By John Travis
  6. Health & Medicine

    Things Just Mesh

    Researching are studying ways to make stents, which prop open arteries, even better at keeping these channels open.

    By Damaris Christensen
  7. Health & Medicine

    Genomes of dangerous bacteria exposed

    Researchers unveiled the genomes of bacteria that cause severe food poisoning, typhoid fever, and the plague that devastated the Middle Ages.

    By John Travis
  8. Health & Medicine

    Cancer drugs may thwart Huntington’s

    Drugs developed to fight cancer could also be effective against Huntington's disease and several related neurodegenerative conditions.

    By John Travis
  9. Health & Medicine

    Decaf May Not Always Be Best

    Each morning, across America, women rev up their engines by downing a cup of caffeine-rich coffee. A few buck the trend, preparing instead a cup of tea. And some of the more health conscious choose a decaf brew. But for the vast majority, no morning beverage offers the appeal of a strong cup of regular […]

    By Janet Raloff
  10. Health & Medicine

    Heart pump extends patients’ survival

    Patients who have an implanted device to help the heart pump blood have a higher survival rate than patients getting only heart medication.

    By Nathan Seppa
  11. Health & Medicine

    Cholesterol enables nerve cells to connect

    Neurons form connections with each other using cholesterol supplied by other brain cells called glia.

    By John Travis
  12. Health & Medicine

    The Science of Secretin

    The discovery that a gut hormone also exists in the brain may shed light on the origins of autism.

    By John Travis