biomedical research

In the past 50 years, better medical care and healthier habits have greatly reduced the risk of dying young from heart disease. But the obesity epidemic threatens to reverse that happy trend.

A Swedish biologist wants to change the genes of healthy human embryos to find ways to treat infertility and other diseases. The experiments intensify ethical questions about genetic engineering.

The aim is to make clinical trial data available to volunteers and scientists, even if a drug or therapy being tested turns out to be a failure. That could help identify serious side effects.

An analysis of pediatric clinical trials found that the results of almost a third of studies that were finished weren't published in medical journals. The lapses raise scientific and ethical concerns.

Researchers in Seattle have created a public observatory for studying the visual circuitry in a mouse's brain. Among the attractions: watching 18,000 neurons respond to Orson Welles' Touch of Evil.

A synthetic version of the human genetic blueprint might used for a wide range of medical research, scientists say. But it's far from reality, and comes with big ethical and safety questions.