Health & Medicine

  1. Health & Medicine

    Better-Off Circumcised? Foreskin may permit HIV entry, infection

    Circumcision seems to offer partial protection against HIV infection, but not other sexually transmitted diseases.

    By Nathan Seppa
  2. Health & Medicine

    Phthalate exposure from drugs?

    Use of an ingestible prescription drug may explain the highest blood concentration of a chemical plasticizer ever observed.

    By Ben Harder
  3. Health & Medicine

    All Roads Lead to RUNX

    Genetic mutations that predispose some people to the autoimmune diseases lupus, psoriasis, and rheumatoid arthritis appear to have a common molecular feature: They derail the work of a protein, called RUNX1, that regulates how active certain genes are.

    By Ben Harder
  4. Health & Medicine

    Fishy Advice—Which Tuna Is Best for You?

    Canned light tuna is a good choice for people who want to lower their intake of mercury.

    By Edna Francisco
  5. Health & Medicine

    Surgical Option: Hysterectomy may top drugs for women with heavy bleeding

    Women who suffer from heavy menstrual bleeding and fail to improve on a hormone-based drug fare better if they choose hysterectomy rather than a regimen of other drugs.

    By Nathan Seppa
  6. Health & Medicine

    Bug bites suggest new stroke drug

    Changing a human enzyme so that it resembles one from blood-sucking insects may lead to a new treatment for strokes.

    By John Travis
  7. Health & Medicine

    Is ‘drink plenty of fluids’ good advice?

    Definitive studies need to determine whether increasing fluid intake during respiratory infections is really a good idea, says a team of researchers.

    By Ben Harder
  8. Health & Medicine

    Suspected Carcinogen Speeds Through People’s Bodies

    A commonly used but potentially carcinogenic flavoring compound stays in people's bodies only briefly.

    By Edna Francisco
  9. Health & Medicine

    Gap in the Defense: Brain cancer patients short on valuable protein

    Brain tumor cells have a dearth of an obscure protein called ING4, whose sister compounds have shown anticancer effects.

    By Nathan Seppa
  10. Health & Medicine

    Ear piercings cause illness, disfigurement

    Piercing the upper-ear cartilage under nonsterile conditions can leave a person vulnerable to a Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection, as happened in Oregon in 2000.

    By Nathan Seppa
  11. Health & Medicine

    Heart patients gain from steep cholesterol drop

    Heart patients can lessen their risk of a heart attack and increase their odds of survival by aggressively reducing harmful low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol in their blood.

    By Nathan Seppa
  12. Health & Medicine

    Drug for migraines helps some patients

    An experimental drug that slows blood flow in the brain knocks out migraine headaches in some people.

    By Nathan Seppa