Health & Medicine

  1. Health & Medicine

    Early Start: Fetuses generate immune response to vaccination

    A fetus can manufacture immune cells and antibodies in direct response to vaccine given to the mother during pregnancy.

    By Nathan Seppa
  2. Health & Medicine

    Stem cells not required

    Insulin-producing cells in the pancreas proliferate by cell division, unlike other body tissues, which regenerate from adult stem cells.

    By Patrick Barry
  3. Health & Medicine

    Circadian Fix: Viagra may lessen effects of jet lag

    Sildenafil, the male-impotence drug marketed as Viagra, helps laboratory rodents recovery from circadian disruptions similar to jet lag.

    By Nathan Seppa
  4. Health & Medicine

    Chocolate Constituent Bests Fluoride

    The beans used to make chocolate can also render a tooth-decay-fighting extract; unfortunately, it's bitter, not chocolaty.

    By Janet Raloff
  5. Health & Medicine

    Nail-gun injuries shoot up

    Nail-gun injuries among do-it-yourself carpenters have tripled since 1991.

    By Nathan Seppa
  6. Health & Medicine

    Migraines in men linked to heart attack risk

    Men who experience migraine headaches are somewhat more likely to have heart attacks than are other men.

    By Nathan Seppa
  7. Health & Medicine

    Dangerous History

    The genome of the TB bacterium has small but significant pockets of diversity, giving scientists new targets for preventing and treating the disease.

    By Emily Sohn
  8. Health & Medicine

    Childhood Vitamin D—A New Benefit?

    Vitamin D may prevent symptoms of asthma in toddlers.

    By Janet Raloff
  9. Health & Medicine

    Cancer Risk—Understanding the Puzzle

    The news is filled with stories about cancer risk. Some of the information can be confusing and contradictory. How do you know what to believe? This new Web site from the National Cancer Institute cuts through the hype to help you understand the plain and simple truth about cancer risk. Go to: http://understandingrisk.cancer.gov

    By Science News
  10. Health & Medicine

    X-Ray Kin: Radiation risk is hereditary

    Susceptibility to radiation-induced tumors runs in families.

    By Brian Vastag
  11. Health & Medicine

    Slimming on oolong

    Rats absorb less dietary fat and gain less weight when their diets contain lots of oolong tea.

    By Janet Raloff
  12. Health & Medicine

    Embryos, please

    Almost half of Spanish couples who were asked recently to donate excess embryos for stem cell research did so.

    By Brian Vastag