Health & Medicine

  1. Health & Medicine

    Coronary Fix: Coated inserts keep vessels unclogged

    Mesh cylinders called stents, which doctors use to prop open coronary arteries, work better when they are coated with sirolimus, a drug that inhibits the accumulation of cells along the device.

    By Nathan Seppa
  2. Health & Medicine

    Timing That First Spoonful: Diabetes risk reflects when cereals enter infant diet

    The timing of cereals' introduction into children's diets may affect their risk of developing type 1 diabetes, two studies suggest.

    By Ben Harder
  3. Health & Medicine

    One bug’s bane may be another’s break

    People who carry pneumococcus bacteria in their nasal passages may be partially protected against having their noses colonized by Staphylococcus aureus.

    By Ben Harder
  4. Health & Medicine

    Drug combination unexpectedly flops

    A combination of therapies that researchers anticipated would work well against HIV failed to stop the virus from replicating in more than half the volunteers who received it.

    By Ben Harder
  5. Health & Medicine

    Resistant staph spreads in communities

    Antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus aureus—once a problem limited mainly to health care settings—has become a menace in communities around the world.

    By Ben Harder
  6. Health & Medicine

    Amid bleak outlook, antibiotic shines

    Encouraging research on a novel antibiotic offers a rare shot of optimism at a time when existing microbe-killing compounds are losing effectiveness and efforts to develop replacements are flagging.

    By Ben Harder
  7. Health & Medicine

    Scientists retract ecstasy drug finding

    Scientists have recanted a controversial report on the dangers of the drug commonly called ecstasy.

    By Ben Harder
  8. Health & Medicine

    Broken arms way up

    Broken arms among adolescents have risen sharply from 30 years ago, possibly because of the popularity of high-risk sports such as skateboarding and a combination of less milk intake and more soft drink consumption.

    By Nathan Seppa
  9. Health & Medicine

    Checkmate for a Child-Killer?

    If a new generation of vaccines pans out, the days of rotavirus, which kills at least 450,000 infants and children every year by causing severe diarrhea, may be numbered.

    By Ben Harder
  10. Health & Medicine

    The Risks in Sweet Solutions to Young Thirsts

    Babies seem to be born with a sweet tooth–one that many adults retain. However, parents and caregivers who indulge a child’s appetite for sugary drinks may be fostering cavities in their children’s teeth, a new study finds. Sugary beverages, especially soda pop, caused more cavities than juice or juice-containing drinks did. That idea may seem […]

    By Janet Raloff
  11. Health & Medicine

    Early Warning? Spinal fluid may signal Alzheimer’s presence

    Spinal-fluid concentrations of two compounds already linked to the disease may reveal whether a person has Alzheimer's disease.

    By Nathan Seppa
  12. Health & Medicine

    To Your Health?

    Doctors are divided on whether the value of screening the torso with X-rays to find symptomless disease outweighs the costs.

    By Janet Raloff