Health Feb 20 How the psychology of a $4.99 price tag might influence who undergoes heart surgery The older you get, the likelier it is that an operation’s risks outweigh the benefits. Yet to arbitrarily — and perhaps, unknowingly — fixate on the threshold at which patients pass from their 70s into their 80s seems like an…
Science Jun 24 Will launching plants into orbit yield new medicines? A team of biologists and chemists hopes that this alien environment might prod these floral cosmonauts into producing new and improved molecules for drugs.
Health Nov 12 To save a young woman besieged by superbugs, scientists hunt a killer virus Mark Smith wants to inject his dying daughter with a virus in hopes it might kill the bacteria rooted in her lungs. First, he has to find the right virus.
Health Jan 14 Why patients blame the weather for their aching joints New research adds to the evidence that weather doesn't aggravate joint pain. But patients will likely hold onto the belief.
Health Jan 08 Doctors admonish us to leave earwax alone. Why won’t anyone listen? Few pieces of medical advice have been so consistent for so long, and so ignored, as the admonition not to use foreign objects to remove earwax.
Health Oct 19 How a golf ball-sized hole in his lung turned this doctor into an activist Like all cases of active tuberculosis, Dr. Kelly Holland's diagnosis would turn into a detective story — and a public health nightmare.
Health Sep 25 Freeze-dried drug factories could make various medicines, just add water This device is called the Freezemobile, and it isn’t your standard household appliance.
Health Jun 11 This website makes organ transplants in the U.S. possible The DonorNet website matches available organs to needy patients, kicking off a race against time to get kidneys, livers, and more to transplant recipients.
Health May 16 Boston hospital records first penis transplant in U.S. In a 15-hour procedure earlier this month, a man received a penis transplant from a deceased donor at Massachusetts General Hospital.
Science Apr 28 A new atlas maps word meanings in the brain It’s like Google Maps for your cerebral cortex: A new interactive atlas purports to show which bits of your brain help you understand which types of concepts.