Medical Treatments

The "My Life Check" calculator gives a personalized readout on heart-healthy behaviors.

Is That Corporate Wellness Program Doing Your Heart Any Good?

2:13pm April 15, 2015

by Nancy Shute

Most employers have a wellness program, but who knows if it's actually improving your health. The American Heart Association is proposing its own standards for improving cardiovascular health at work.

I Learned The Hard Way That Concussion Isn't Just For The Young

2:11pm April 15, 2015

by Fred Powledge

We hear a lot about concussion and kids, but older adults are even more vulnerable to traumatic brain injury. A slip in the kitchen leads one man down the rabbit hole with no clear path out.

Detective Lt. Patrick Glynn holds a nasal injection containing the overdose-reversing drug naloxone at police headquarters in Quincy, Mass.

Health & Safety

A Lifesaving Medicine That My Patient Didn't Get In Time

5:56pm April 13, 2015

by Leana Wen

Drug overdoses — many from opioid painkillers — cause more deaths in the U.S. than car crashes, shootings or alcohol. But stigma keeps many addicts from an antidote that could quickly save them.

The same nerve receptor that responds to the green paste on your sushi plate is activated by car exhaust, the smoke of a wildfire, tear gas and other chemical irritants.

Sushi Science: A 3-D View Of The Body's Wasabi Receptor

7:33pm April 08, 2015

by Jon Hamilton

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.

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These slides are part of a common screening test for colorblindness. Viewers with normal vision and those with color vision deficiencies usually see the number 12 in this one.

University And Biotech Firm Team Up On Colorblindness Therapy

7:23pm April 08, 2015

by Jon Hamilton

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.

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In the technique known as intracytoplasmic sperm injection, a fertility specialist uses a tiny needle to inject sperm into an egg cell.

What's My Chance Of Having A Baby? A Better Predictor Of IVF Success

6:19pm April 08, 2015

by Katherine Hobson

Achieving pregnancy with in vitro fertilization depends largely on your age. But other factors contribute, too. A study compares two online tools aimed at giving couples a realistic sense of the odds.

Blaze Bioscience is commercially developing the "paint," which glows when exposed to near-infrared light.

Doctors Test Tumor Paint In People

5:52pm April 08, 2015

by Joe Palca

A modified venom from scorpions that carries a dye into the brain and makes tumors glow has cleared its latest hurdle. But will this attempt to improve brain surgery work in humans as well as animals?

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Melinda Townsend-Breslin holds a photo showing her and her mother standing in the parking lot of a favorite thrift store in 2013.

Health & Safety

Medical Bills Linger, Long After Cancer Treatment Ends

3:45pm April 08, 2015

by Amanda Aronczyk

A woman's family is stuck with medical charges for care she received after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Negotiating relief from the bills has become a part-time job for her daughter.

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Will A Transplanted Hand Feel Like His Own? Surgery Raises Questions

3:29pm April 08, 2015

by Rob Stein

A 20-year-old man born without fingers on one hand hopes a transplanted hand will give him more confidence. He knows the risks of such a visible transplant, but says, "It's something I always wanted."

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Studies show that having too many tests done too frequently is a recipe for getting sick, not staying healthy.

Tracking Your Own Health Data Too Closely Can Make You Sick

8:32am April 07, 2015

by Charles Ornstein

Why not check bloodwork a few times a year as some celebrities advise? Because too much testing can lead to false positives (and abnormalities that don't threaten health) and to unnecessary treatment.