Health & Medicine

  1. Health & Medicine

    Is penicillin-allergy rate overstated?

    A study finds that 20 of 21 people who reported having a penicillin allergy when filling out paperwork during a hospital visit in fact don't have one, suggesting that the prevalence of this allergy is overstated.

    By Nathan Seppa
  2. Health & Medicine

    Weight Matters, Even in the Womb

    Status at birth can foreshadow illnesses decades later.

    By Damaris Christensen
  3. Health & Medicine

    Persistent Cough: Pertussis rises in young adults and infants

    Pertussis, or whooping cough, appears to be rebounding in many age groups, causing long-lasting symptoms in adolescents and adults and threatening the lives of unvaccinated infants.

    By Ben Harder
  4. Health & Medicine

    Nicotine’s Good Side: Substance curbs sepsis in mice

    Nicotine halted the progression of severe sepsis in mice, suggesting a new avenue for treating this acute blood infection.

    By Diana Parsell
  5. Health & Medicine

    High-fat diets slim down learning

    High-fat diets decrease the ability of male rats to learn and remember.

    By Christen Brownlee
  6. Health & Medicine

    Drug abuse could be an occupational hazard

    Breathing minuscule amounts of painkillers administered to patients in surgery may increase an anesthesiologist's risk of abusing prescription drugs.

    By Christen Brownlee
  7. Health & Medicine

    Acne drug affects brain function

    The antiacne drug Accutane may decrease activity in a part of the brain that regulates mood.

    By Christen Brownlee
  8. Health & Medicine

    Malaria vaccine shows promise in Mozambique

    An experimental malaria vaccine tested on children in Mozambique provides some protection against the potentially life-threatening disease.

    By Nathan Seppa
  9. Health & Medicine

    Prescription for Trouble: Antidepressants might rewire young brains

    Young mice exposed to a common type of antidepressant, known as a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), showed symptoms of anxiety and depression in adulthood.

    By Christen Brownlee
  10. Health & Medicine

    Affairs of the Heartburn: Drugs for stomach acid may hike pneumonia risk

    Acid-blocking drugs seem to boost a person's chances of getting pneumonia.

    By Nathan Seppa
  11. Health & Medicine

    Double Credit: Iron-fortified salt cuts anemia

    A form of table salt manufactured to contain iron can fight off anemia among children living in rural North Africa and could expand the role of salt fortification around the world.

    By Ben Harder
  12. Health & Medicine

    Drug aids destruction of lymphoma cells

    The drug rituximab, when added to chemotherapy, boosts survival rates in people with diffuse B-cell lymphoma, a kind of cancer.

    By Nathan Seppa