Health & Medicine

  1. Health & Medicine

    Fragile X protein reveals its RNA partners

    The master gene behind fragile X syndrome—the most common inherited form of mental retardation—encodes a protein that binds to strands of messenger RNA.

    By John Travis
  2. Health & Medicine

    Things Just Mesh

    Researching are studying ways to make stents, which prop open arteries, even better at keeping these channels open.

    By Damaris Christensen
  3. Health & Medicine

    Genomes of dangerous bacteria exposed

    Researchers unveiled the genomes of bacteria that cause severe food poisoning, typhoid fever, and the plague that devastated the Middle Ages.

    By John Travis
  4. Health & Medicine

    Cancer drugs may thwart Huntington’s

    Drugs developed to fight cancer could also be effective against Huntington's disease and several related neurodegenerative conditions.

    By John Travis
  5. Health & Medicine

    Decaf May Not Always Be Best

    Each morning, across America, women rev up their engines by downing a cup of caffeine-rich coffee. A few buck the trend, preparing instead a cup of tea. And some of the more health conscious choose a decaf brew. But for the vast majority, no morning beverage offers the appeal of a strong cup of regular […]

    By Janet Raloff
  6. Health & Medicine

    Heart pump extends patients’ survival

    Patients who have an implanted device to help the heart pump blood have a higher survival rate than patients getting only heart medication.

    By Nathan Seppa
  7. Health & Medicine

    Cholesterol enables nerve cells to connect

    Neurons form connections with each other using cholesterol supplied by other brain cells called glia.

    By John Travis
  8. Health & Medicine

    The Science of Secretin

    The discovery that a gut hormone also exists in the brain may shed light on the origins of autism.

    By John Travis
  9. Health & Medicine

    Reducing blood pressure in the lungs

    A new drug seems to help reduce abnormally high blood pressure in the lungs, a condition that can trigger heart failure.

    By Damaris Christensen
  10. Health & Medicine

    Seizures and reproductive ills linked

    Abnormal electrical signaling in the brains of women with epilepsy may alter sex hormone cycling and explain why epileptic women seem to have a higher rate of reproductive disorders than do other women.

    By Damaris Christensen
  11. Health & Medicine

    Brain may forge some memories in waves

    The waxing and waning of synchronized electrical bursts by cells in two key brain areas may promote at least one type of memory formation.

    By Bruce Bower
  12. Health & Medicine

    Protein may key lupus’ attack on neurons

    A protein on the surface of brain cells enables rogue antibodies to attach to and kill these neurons, suggesting an explanation for neurological problems found in some lupus patients.

    By Nathan Seppa