Health & Medicine

  1. Health & Medicine

    Nobel prize: Physiology or medicine

    The 2001 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine goes to three researchers who pioneered work in cell division.

    By Nathan Seppa
  2. Health & Medicine

    Sperm Protein May Lead to Male Pill

    A protein that helps sperm move their tails may be a perfect target for a male contraceptive.

    By John Travis
  3. Health & Medicine

    Mushrooming Concerns

    For chefs who savor the flavor of fresh, organic ingredients, what could be better than cooking just-picked mushrooms for dinner? Tricholoma flavovirens–sometimes known in the United States and elsewhere as Tricholoma equestre. Its common name: Man on Horseback. Fred Steven That attitude appears to have gotten a few French gourmands in trouble–big trouble, according to […]

    By Janet Raloff
  4. Health & Medicine

    Vitamin relative may aid stroke repair

    Dehydroascorbic acid, a precursor of vitamin C, may help stroke patients retain use of parts of their brain at risk from the blood shut-off caused by strokes.

    By Nathan Seppa
  5. Health & Medicine

    Detecting cancer risk with a chip

    Researchers can use microcantilevers studded with antibodies that react to prostate specific antigen, or PSA, to analyze blood samples for signs of prostate cancer.

    By Nathan Seppa
  6. Health & Medicine

    EMFs in home may limit night hormone

    A pair of studies suggests a link, at least in some women, between elevated residential exposure to electromagnetic fields and reduced production of the hormone melatonin.

    By Ben Harder
  7. Health & Medicine

    Aging cells may promote tumors nearby

    Cells that enter a state called senescence in older individuals may stimulate nearby cells to become tumors.

    By John Travis
  8. Health & Medicine

    Chemical Neutralizes Anthrax Toxin

    Scientists have created a synthetic compound that, when tested in rats, disables the toxin that makes anthrax lethal.

    By Nathan Seppa
  9. Health & Medicine

    Oceans apart, but surgery succeeds

    A French group performed the first transatlantic operation when surgeons in New York controlled a robot in Strasbourg, France, which removed a woman's gall bladder.

    By Damaris Christensen
  10. Health & Medicine

    For a change, infection stymies HIV

    A hepatitis-like virus that causes no known diseases seems to help people stave off the progression of HIV, the AIDS virus.

    By Damaris Christensen
  11. Health & Medicine

    Acacia-tree extract fights cancer in mice

    Compounds called avicins extracted from Acacia victoriae, an Australian desert tree, inhibit inflammation and cancer in test-tube and mouse studies.

    By Nathan Seppa
  12. Health & Medicine

    Germs can survive weeks on fabrics, plastic

    Soft, dry surfaces in hospitals can harbor live germs for more than a month.

    By Janet Raloff