Health & Medicine

  1. Health & Medicine

    Breast density signals tamoxifen’s effectiveness

    Decreasing breast density signals the drug tamoxifen is working in women at risk of developing breast cancer.

    By Nathan Seppa
  2. Health & Medicine

    Stronger role for a breast cancer drug

    Going beyond its original role as an add-on for chemotherapy, the breast cancer drug lapatinib, when taken with another kind of frontline drug, may find use for patients with the HER2-positive form of the cancer.

    By Nathan Seppa
  3. Health & Medicine

    Gene could drive species separation

    Newly identified fruit fly gene provides evidence for “cheating genes” that may cause species schisms

    By Laura Sanders
  4. Chemistry

    ENV Tidbits: Corals, nano concerns, and more

    News nuggets on climate-imperiled corals, nanotech worries, and soft drinks bearing pesticides.

    By Janet Raloff
  5. Health & Medicine

    In the brain, justice is served from many parts

    Imaging study reveals variation in brain activity depending on the severity of punishment a person decides.

    By Tina Hesman Saey
  6. Health & Medicine

    Pollutants in the womb can trigger adult cancers

    Mouse study shows fetal exposure to carcinogens may pose long-term risks.

    By Janet Raloff
  7. Health & Medicine

    Antioxidants fail to prevent prostate cancer

    Selenium, vitamins C, E don’t lower incidence of prostate cancer in two large trials.

    By Nathan Seppa
  8. Health & Medicine

    Malaria vaccine closer to reality

    The success of two trials sets the stage for a final, large-scale trial that could mean approval of what would be the first vaccine against Malaria.

    By Nathan Seppa
  9. Health & Medicine

    Lack of sleep has genetic link with type 2 diabetes

    Large genomic studies show body rhythms, melatonin may influence sugar levels in the blood.

    By Laura Sanders
  10. Health & Medicine

    Honeybee CSI: Why dead bodies can’t be found

    Virus could explain one symptom of colony collapse.

    By Susan Milius
  11. Health & Medicine

    Imagination Medicine

    Brain imaging reveals the substance of placebos. Expectation alone triggers the same neural circuits and chemicals as real drugs.

    By Jeanne Erdmann
  12. Health & Medicine

    Men line up for circumcision in Africa

    But demand for the operation, shown to guard against HIV and other infections, exceeds availability.

    By Nathan Seppa