Health & Medicine

  1. Health & Medicine

    Bilirubin: Both villain and hero?

    Bilirubin, which causes jaundice in newborns, may protect against cellular damage.

    By John Travis
  2. Health & Medicine

    In Silico Medicine

    Medical researchers are increasingly turning to computer simulations to help them understand the complexity of living systems, design better drugs, and treat patients more effectively.

    By Damaris Christensen
  3. Health & Medicine

    An alternate approach to Parkinson’s

    While levodopa is the treatment of choice for Parkinson's disease, drugs called dopamine agonists, which mimic the neurotransmitter dopamine, may work as well early in the disease, cause fewer side effects, and preserve levodopa's effectiveness.

    By Nathan Seppa
  4. Health & Medicine

    Bypass surgery in elderly works fine

    Coronary bypass surgery works as well in people over age 75 as it does in people 15 years younger.

    By Nathan Seppa
  5. Health & Medicine

    Home Cooking on the Wane

    Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Passover are among the few holidays on which home-cooked meals remain the norm. On most other days of the year, a large and growing share of U.S. diners happily leave the cooking of at least one meal to professionals. Eating in. Eating out. Home cooking used to signify meals with a healthy […]

    By Janet Raloff
  6. Health & Medicine

    Cluster Bombs: Metabolic syndrome tied to heart disease deaths

    Men with a certain cluster of metabolic characteristics are about three times as likely to die of heart disease as men without the traits are.

    By Ben Harder
  7. Health & Medicine

    Jarring Result: Extreme biking can hurt men’s fertility

    Men who maintain grueling mountain-bicycling programs are apt to have lower sperm counts than nonbikers are.

    By Nathan Seppa
  8. Health & Medicine

    Keeping the beat

    Muscle cells taken from embryonic rats and put into an adult rat's heart can transmit the electric signals that govern the heartbeat.

    By Damaris Christensen
  9. Health & Medicine

    Enzyme Shortage May Lead to Lupus

    Without the enzyme DNase I, mice are vulnerable to symptoms of lupus, a debilitating autoimmune disease.

    By Nathan Seppa
  10. Health & Medicine

    Cycling and surgery have similar effect

    Among people with chest pain because of clogged heart arteries, regular exercise on a stationary bike reduced symptoms better than surgery did.

    By Damaris Christensen
  11. Health & Medicine

    A hot new therapy?

    Spending time in a sauna improves heart function in people with chronic heart failure.

    By Damaris Christensen
  12. Health & Medicine

    Protein may signal heart problems

    A protein already linked to inflammation is also a strong predictor of heart problems.

    By Nathan Seppa