Health & Medicine

  1. Health & Medicine

    Toothpicks match needles for acupuncture

    Sham acupuncture works as well as the real thing for back pain, a study shows.

    By Nathan Seppa
  2. Life

    Misread epigenetic signals play role in leukemia

    A genetic mistake causes misinterpretation of epigenetic marks, leading to cancer.

    By Tina Hesman Saey
  3. Earth

    U.S. radiation dose has doubled

    New analysis finds radiation-based medical procedures have skyrocketed.

    By Janet Raloff
  4. Health & Medicine

    Keeping artery plaques under control

    Toning down a gene called CHOP may offer a way to reduce the risk of arterial plaque ruptures, which can cause heart attacks and strokes, a study in mice shows.

    By Nathan Seppa
  5. Earth

    Report of earlier, longer puberty in girls

    A Danish study finds young girls are entering puberty notably earlier than 15 years ago — for reasons that remain unknown.

    By Janet Raloff
  6. Health & Medicine

    Narcolepsy linked to immune system

    Genome association study finds a second connection between the sleep disorder and the body's disease-fighting apparatus

    By Tina Hesman Saey
  7. Health & Medicine

    Swine flu genetics suggest a vaccine is possible

    So far, strain's contagion appears on par with that of a seasonal flu outbreak. Vaccine would be at least months away.

    By Nathan Seppa
  8. Health & Medicine

    Science budgets look rosy, AAAS finds

    The president and Congress have collaborated in targeting substantial increases for federal investments in R&D this year.

    By Janet Raloff
  9. Health & Medicine

    World Health Organization raises swine flu alert level

    The World Health Organization announced April 29 that is has raised the alert level for swine flu from Phase 4 to Phase 5, which suggests that a pandemic is imminent.

    By Nathan Seppa
  10. Health & Medicine

    Brain reads word-by-word

    The brain reads words as whole units and processes the information quickly, two studies suggest.

    By Tina Hesman Saey
  11. Health & Medicine

    New weapon fights hepatitis C

    Taking the experimental drug telaprevir with standard medications for hepatitis C clears the virus from patients’ blood better than the standard combination alone.

    By Nathan Seppa
  12. Health & Medicine

    Institute of Medicine takes on conflicts of interest

    The Institute of Medicine seeks to divorce medical research from undue influence by the pharmaceutical and medical-device industries.

    By Janet Raloff