Health & Medicine

  1. Health & Medicine

    Cooking Science

    The Exploratorium’s “Science of Cooking” Web pages offer all sorts of advice on how to improve your cooking–with a pinch of science. Information, recipes, and activities focus on spices, bread, meat, eggs, and more. Experience the thrill of pickle making and learn about a zesty dish called kimchi. Explore the science of cooking your holiday […]

    By Science News
  2. Health & Medicine

    Schizophrenia spurs imaging network

    Thanks to a federal grant, a team of researchers will establish a national database of brain images that will allow for expanded investigations of the neural basis of schizophrenia.

    By Bruce Bower
  3. Health & Medicine

    Old Drug, New Uses?

    A hormone called erythropoietin, long used to treat anemia, also seems to protect against nerve damage and holds promise as a new therapy for stroke and spinal cord injury.

    By Damaris Christensen
  4. Health & Medicine

    First Line of Defense: Hints of primitive antibodies

    After looking in primitive marine invertebrates that are considered to be close relatives to vertebrates, immunologists find families of genes that might provide clues as to how early immune systems evolved.

    By Carol Marzuola
  5. Health & Medicine

    Coconspirator? Genital herpes linked to cervical cancer

    Having a genital herpes infection doubles the risk of cervical cancer among women who have human papillomavirus.

    By Nathan Seppa
  6. Health & Medicine

    Nervous tics in the heart

    The irregular heartbeats sometimes triggered after a heart attack may be caused by abnormal nerve growth in heart tissue damaged by the attack.

    By Damaris Christensen
  7. Health & Medicine

    Waiting to exhale

    A breath test that measures the activity of an enzyme involved in breaking down drugs in a person's body may help doctors minimize side effects from potent drugs such as docetaxel.

    By Damaris Christensen
  8. Health & Medicine

    Young Women Don’t Bone Up on Soy

    Among the many reported nutritional benefits of diets rich in soy is a strengthening of bone in postmenopausal women. For these Golden Girls, who face an increasing risk of osteoporosis, soy-based foods can provide much-needed assistance in limiting the inevitable loss of bone. Although soybeans are best known for their oil, their protein is also […]

    By Janet Raloff
  9. Health & Medicine

    Two studies offer some cell-phone cautions

    A British review of research gave cell-phone safety a guarded endorsement, while new findings indicate that radiation from older cell phones can trigger a stress-response gene, at least in animals.

    By Janet Raloff
  10. Health & Medicine

    Drug combination may fight breast cancer

    Retinoic acid, when combined with a drug that reverses a process called methylation in breast tumor cells, may awaken a key cancer-fighting gene.

    By Nathan Seppa
  11. Health & Medicine

    Federal Government Launches Organic Standards

    Though for decades some foods have carried the label “organic,” consumers never could be sure exactly what the term meant. Action by the Department of Agriculture last week should clarify things. USDA USDA On Oct. 21, USDA implemented regulations governing the production and labeling of organic foods. Until now, bodies from state governments to trade […]

    By John Pickrell
  12. Health & Medicine

    Hidden Effect? Hypertension risk linked to common, over-the-counter pain relievers

    Women who take ibuprofen or acetaminophen for headaches or inflammation boost their chances of developing high blood pressure.

    By Nathan Seppa