Health & Medicine

  1. Health & Medicine

    Heard about Choline?

    This week, the Food and Drug Administration is expected to announce its authorization of food-labeling claims for choline. It marks the first nutrient to be approved for such claims under the FDA Modernization Act of 1997. Central Soya Central Soya Although choline is hardly a household name, its low visibility doesn’t reflect its importance. This […]

    By Janet Raloff
  2. Health & Medicine

    Two drugs may enhance recovery from stroke

    Two drugs, levodopa and dextroamphetamine, may help stroke patients to recover the ability to move and speak.

    By Nathan Seppa
  3. Health & Medicine

    Painkillers may damage hearts

    A retrospective study suggests that commonly used painkillers called COX-2 inhibitors may slightly increase a person's risk of having a heart attack.

    By Damaris Christensen
  4. Health & Medicine

    Placebos are dead, long live placebos

    A study provides new evidence for the placebo effect and suggests a mechanism through which placebos might benefit patients with Parkinson's disease.

    By Damaris Christensen
  5. Health & Medicine

    Study challenges surgery for lung disease

    Patients with the most severe emphysema shouldn't undergo major surgery that removes part of their damaged lungs.

    By Damaris Christensen
  6. Health & Medicine

    Walking and eating for better health

    A low-fat diet and regular exercise can ward off diabetes in people at high risk of developing the disease.

    By Susan Milius
  7. Health & Medicine

    Gene implicated in deadly influenza

    A strain of influenza virus that struck in Hong Kong in 1997 got some of its lethality from a mutation in the gene encoding an enzyme called PB2.

    By Nathan Seppa
  8. Health & Medicine

    Arteries may be vulnerable to HIV attack

    HIV may directly interact with cells in arteries, predisposing people to heart attacks.

    By John Travis
  9. Health & Medicine

    Immunity’s Eyes

    Proteins called toll-like receptors allow human immune cells to detect microbes.

    By John Travis
  10. Health & Medicine

    Milk seems to guard against breast cancer

    Norwegian scientists have linked high milk consumption to low incidence of breast cancer.

    By Janet Raloff
  11. Health & Medicine

    Hindering glutamate slows rat brain cancer

    Compounds that inhibit the amino acid glutamate impede a form of brain cancer called glioma in rats.

    By Nathan Seppa
  12. Health & Medicine

    Insulin lowers more than blood sugar

    Insulin may reduce inflammation and protect the heart.

    By John Travis