Health & Medicine
- Health & Medicine
Fast Start: Sex readily spreads HIV in infection’s first weeks
People with HIV are many times more infectious to their sexual partners in the weeks or months just after they acquire the virus than they are later on, a study in Uganda demonstrates conclusively.
By Ben Harder - Health & Medicine
Step up to denser bones
Step aerobics proved better than resistance exercises for building bone density.
By Janet Raloff - Health & Medicine
Company pulls pain drug from market
The Food and Drug Administration has asked Pfizer to stop selling its prescription pain medication valdecoxib (Bextra).
By Ben Harder - Health & Medicine
Is Chromium in Your Mineral Supplement?
As a new study on chromium illustrates, the value of a mineral supplement can depend greatly on which chemical form of the mineral a manufacturer uses.
By Janet Raloff - Health & Medicine
Messy Mix? Combined vaccine yields fewer antibodies
Some common childhood vaccines don't seem to work as well when administered with, or at the same time as, other vaccines.
By Nathan Seppa - Health & Medicine
Smelly garlic: A lung tonic?
Fresh garlic or its powdered equivalent might prevent a potentially lethal condition in which pulmonary blood pressure is selectively elevated.
By Janet Raloff - Health & Medicine
Blood hints at autism’s source
A new biochemical profile in blood may lead to earlier diagnosis of autism and a better understanding of its genetic causes.
By Janet Raloff - Health & Medicine
Viagra might rescue risky pregnancies
Viagra shows promise for limiting threats of fetal loss from preeclampsia, a type of high blood pressure that frequently occurs during pregnancy.
By Janet Raloff - Health & Medicine
The Race to Prescribe
Race-based medicine could be a stepping-stone to the higher goal of targeting medicines toward the genetics of individual patients, but some researchers are troubled by the implications of practicing medicine according to patients' racial identities.
By Ben Harder - Health & Medicine
Molecular Switch: Protein may influence chronic-pain disorder
A cell-surface protein found in the nervous system may play a central role in a chronic-pain condition known as neuropathy.
By Nathan Seppa - Health & Medicine
Detecting cancer in a flash
Instant identification of cancer cells may become possible following experiments demonstrating that healthy and cancerous cells alter laser light in different, and distinguishable, ways.
By Peter Weiss - Health & Medicine
Improving Prospects for Functional Foods
A new analysis recommends streamlining rules that govern the production and sale of foods that improve health.
By Janet Raloff