Health & Safety

John Hancock announced a new program promising discounts for policyholders who wear a fitness tracker, exercise more and go to the doctor. But privacy advocates worry about the electronic monitoring.

Most calls to the Houston Fire Department are for health problems, not fires. All those medical calls strain the 911 system and make a career in firefighting seem more like a career in health care.

Haiti has long relied on NGOs for aid. But the village of Tuffet is now on the grid — and paying for its power. "It's better when you pay for something," a resident says. "It doesn't go away then."

The same receptor on nerve endings that makes sinuses tingle when we eat wasabi plays an important role in the pain of inflammation. The first 3-D view of the receptor could lead to better pain drugs.

Six years ago, husband-and-wife scientists used gene therapy to cure colorblindness in monkeys. Now they're trying to make it work for the millions of people with faulty color vision.

Brazil is hosting not just the Olympics in 2016 but also the Paralympics. And activists for the disabled say Rio de Janeiro has a long and potholed road ahead of it to get ready for the games.