Health & Medicine

  1. Health & Medicine

    HIV-positive people getting heavier

    With drug treatment, HIV-infected people no longer suffer from wasting but are about as overweight or obese as the U.S. population as a whole.

    By Brian Vastag
  2. Health & Medicine

    ‘Knuckle fever’ reaches Italy

    A virus that causes debilitating fever and joint pain has spread from Africa to Italy, where it has caused at least 284 cases of illness.

    By Brian Vastag
  3. Health & Medicine

    Twice bitten

    Repeat episodes of Lyme disease are more likely caused by a second tick bite rather than by a return of the original illness.

    By Brian Vastag
  4. Health & Medicine

    Ulcer bug may prevent asthma

    Children whose stomachs carry the bacterium Helicobacter pylori are at lower risk for asthma than children who don't have the bug.

    By Brian Vastag
  5. Health & Medicine

    Looking for Biomarkers: Protein signature may warn of impending Alzheimer’s disease

    Measuring the amounts of certain proteins in the blood might provide early warning of Alzheimer's disease.

    By Nathan Seppa
  6. Health & Medicine

    Beware the Starlings: Common birds can carry avian influenza

    Common songbirds such as starlings may be able to carry and spread avian influenza.

    By Brian Vastag
  7. Health & Medicine

    Regulating Muscle Decline: Small molecules linked to degenerative diseases

    Snippets of RNA that regulate gene activity play a role in muscle-wasting diseases such as muscular dystrophy.

    By Patrick Barry
  8. Health & Medicine

    Better Than Pap: Virus test detects cervical cancer

    A new test for human papillomavirus (HPV) detects cervical cancer more reliably than traditional Pap smears.

    By Sarah Williams
  9. Health & Medicine

    Troubling Meaty ‘Estrogen’

    High temperature cooking can imbue meats with a chemical that acts like a hormone.

    By Janet Raloff
  10. Health & Medicine

    Moving up the Charts: Drug-resistant bug invades military, civilian hospitals

    Acinetobacter baumannii, a common bacterium, is becoming more virulent and drug resistant in hospitals.

    By Brian Vastag
  11. Health & Medicine

    Antibiotic improves recovery from stroke

    An antibiotic called minocycline seems to limit brain damage and disability in stroke patients.

    By Nathan Seppa
  12. Health & Medicine

    Diabetes precursor may be checked by omega-3 fatty acids

    Omega-3 fatty acids in the diet might fend off diabetes in children prone to the disease.

    By Nathan Seppa