Health & Medicine

  1. Health & Medicine

    Folate cuts family risk of colon cancer

    According to a 16-year study of nearly 90,000 women, the vitamin folate has a protective effect against colon cancer among women whose families have been affected by the disease.

    By Ben Harder
  2. Health & Medicine

    Berry Colorful Nutrition News (with recipes)

    Ah, raspberries. So sweet, so delicate on the tongue, so ephemeral. Oregon Raspberry and Blackberry Commission Isolated pigments from the four raspberries tested. Liu/Cornell Oregon Raspberry and Blackberry Commission Every year, I unsuccessfully defend my raspberries against squirrels, birds, and beetles. As I watch the fruit begin to ripen, so do the neighborhood creatures. Two […]

    By Janet Raloff
  3. Health & Medicine

    Vanquishing a Virus: New drugs attack herpes infections

    Scientists have identified a new class of compounds that stop herpes simplex virus from replicating.

    By John Travis
  4. Health & Medicine

    Diluted smallpox vaccine is potent

    About 15 million doses of smallpox vaccine held by the U.S. government can be diluted to one-tenth their original concentration and still be effective for immunizing people.

    By John Travis
  5. Health & Medicine

    Pulse pressure linked to dialysis death rate

    People on kidney dialysis who have high pulse pressure—the difference between the top and bottom numbers on a blood pressure reading—seem to be at a greater risk of dying than those with low pulse pressure.

    By Nathan Seppa
  6. Health & Medicine

    Blood Vessel Poisoning: Arsenic narrows artery that feeds brain

    New research suggests that drinking arsenic-laden water can produce dangerous narrowing in the carotid artery, which channels blood through the neck to the brain.

    By Ben Harder
  7. Health & Medicine

    Scrambled Drugs: Transgenic chickens could lay golden eggs

    Scientists have created transgenic chickens able to produce foreign proteins—and, potentially, pharmaceuticals—in their eggs.

    By John Pickrell
  8. Health & Medicine

    A tasty discovery about the tongue

    Scientists can now explain how the tongue tastes the amino acids in proteins.

    By John Travis
  9. Health & Medicine

    Clotting protein hinders nerve repair

    A blood-clotting protein called fibrin seems to exacerbate the regrowth problems that plague severed nerves.

    By Nathan Seppa
  10. Health & Medicine

    Aerial War against Disease

    Researchers around the world are catching on to the idea of using satellites to predict where diseases may strike.

    By John Pickrell
  11. Health & Medicine

    Deciphering Virulence: Heart-harming bacteria flaunt unique viral genes

    By documenting genetic variation among bacteria responsible for a heart-damaging illness known as rheumatic fever, researchers may have opened paths to new preventive measures and treatments.

    By Ben Harder
  12. Health & Medicine

    X rays tell stirring tale about fat

    X rays reveal how food processing shapes microscopic crystals of edible fats.

    By Peter Weiss