Health & Medicine

  1. Health & Medicine

    Nice Shot: Hepatitis E vaccine passes critical test

    An experimental vaccine for hepatitis E has proved nearly 96 percent protective in a test in Nepalese soldiers.

    By Nathan Seppa
  2. Health & Medicine

    Cocoa compound increases brain blood flow

    Cocoa that retains compounds usually removed to soften the product's flavor can significantly improve blood flow to the brain.

    By Christen Brownlee
  3. Health & Medicine

    A cornea that’s got some nerve

    Researchers have developed a technique to grow corneal tissue that includes nerve cells, an advance that may enable them to test consumer products in lab dishes rather than live animals.

    By Sid Perkins
  4. Health & Medicine

    Fungus produces cancer drug

    Several varieties of fungi that attack hazelnuts produce high quantities of the popular cancer drug paclitaxel.

    By Christen Brownlee
  5. Health & Medicine

    How antipsychotic drugs can cause weight gain

    A study of mice has identified a biological mechanism by which medications called atypical antipsychotics cause people to gain weight.

    By Ben Harder
  6. Health & Medicine

    Fixes for Fatty Liver

    A slate of experimental treatments, including three established diabetes drugs, could become medicines for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, an obesity-related cause of cirrhosis.

    By Ben Harder
  7. Health & Medicine

    Of Bamboo and French Fries

    A bamboo extract can limit the formation of a carcinogen in baked and fried foods.

    By Janet Raloff
  8. Health & Medicine

    Virus Stopper: Herpes drug dampens HIV infection

    An antiviral drug commonly taken for genital herpes seems to suppress HIV in people harboring both pathogens.

    By Nathan Seppa
  9. Health & Medicine

    Hurt-Knees Rx: Surgical method promotes ligament regeneration

    A new artificial knee ligament that sparks regeneration of natural tissue could eventually make recovering from knee-repair surgery less painful and debilitating.

    By Patrick Barry
  10. Health & Medicine

    Inside job dissolves blood clot pronto

    An experimental procedure that delivers a clot-busting drug directly to the brain can bring on a remarkable turnaround in some stroke patients.

    By Nathan Seppa
  11. Health & Medicine

    Aspirin resistance carries real risks

    Some people are resistant to the blood-thinning effects of aspirin, making them more vulnerable to stroke or heart problems.

    By Nathan Seppa
  12. Health & Medicine

    Aneurysm risk may get passed down

    A heightened risk of having a brain aneurysm seems to be passed down in some families, and the life-threatening rupture of an aneurysm appears to strike earlier in a succeeding generation.

    By Nathan Seppa