Health & Medicine
- Health & Medicine
Old-fashioned circumcision can spread herpes
Boys whose ritual circumcisions involve an ancient, and now rare, practice may acquire herpes during the operation.
By Ben Harder - Health & Medicine
Severe sweating treated with Botox
A new treatment has been approved for excessive sweating, or hyperhidrosis, which is surprisingly common.
By Ben Harder - Health & Medicine
What’s the Beef?
Beef certified as Angus may not always be as tender as consumers expect.
By Janet Raloff - Health & Medicine
HIV drugs may stop cervical disease
A drug combination given to people with HIV, the AIDS virus, helps knock out precancerous cervical lesions in some women.
By Nathan Seppa - Health & Medicine
Got Diabetes? Try Ditching Caffeine
New studies indicate that caffeine impairs the body's ability to use insulin and regulate blood sugar—potentially serious problems for people with diabetes.
By Janet Raloff - Health & Medicine
Swallowed a Fly: Insects may spread foodborne microbe to chickens
Flies sucked through the ventilation ports of industrial chicken coops may spread the pathogen Campylobacter jejuni, which can ultimately sicken people who eat undercooked chicken.
By Ben Harder - Health & Medicine
Gene Delivery: Mouse study shows new therapy may reverse muscular dystrophy
A single defective gene causes muscular dystrophy, and researchers have now found a way to deliver a working copy of that gene to the entire muscular system in mice.
By Carrie Lock - Health & Medicine
Stopping Alzheimer’s: Antibody thwarts disease in mice
Antibodies against amyloid protein, which gums up the brains of Alzheimer's patients, reverse a form of the disease in mice.
By Nathan Seppa - Health & Medicine
Computers read mammograms to detect breast cancer
Mammogram–scanning computers can help radiologists detect breast cancers that would otherwise escape diagnosis.
By Ben Harder - Health & Medicine
Prion Proof? Evidence grows for mad cow protein
Misfolded proteins known as prions can cause disease when injected into the brains of genetically engineered mice.
By Nathan Seppa - Health & Medicine
Dentists: Eschew chewing aspirin
Chewing aspirin or just letting the tablets dissolve in the mouth can seriously damage teeth.
By Nathan Seppa - Health & Medicine
Better Labeling of Major Food Allergens
A bill awaiting the President's signature would require that all U.S. food products identify in plain English the presence of major food allergens—and foster federal research on the incidence and impacts of food allergies.
By Janet Raloff