Obama in excellent health, doctor says, but he should quit smoking

President Obama is fit as a fiddle, but he should lower his cholesterol and kick his smoking habit.

Tsunami magnitude difficult to predict

Scientists can do a very good job of tracking the progression of a tsunami and predicting when it will arrive, but they have much more...

Closing lunar program a tough mission for NASA

NASA is discovering that perhaps the only thing harder than starting up a program to send humans to the moon is closing one down.

The hope of music's healing powers

Yes, yes, it hath charms to soothe a savage breast (or beast, if you prefer to repeat a common mistake). But researchers are finding that...

Playing along with the Mozart effect

Five months after we are conceived, music begins to capture our attention and wire our brains for a lifetime of aural experience. At the...

Stroke study puts 2 procedures on equal footing

For patients with a hardening of the neck arteries that can lead to a stroke, balloon angioplasty and stenting are virtually as effective...

Skulls of new dinosaur species found in Utah

Scientists have made a rare find: four skulls of a new species of giant plant-eating dinosaur, one of them completely intact.

Physicists looking to shed more light on dark matter

British and Japanese scientists at the multinational T2K particle-physics project in Japan said Friday that they have observed the...

FDA approves new pneumonia vaccine with wider reach

The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday approved a new pneumococcal vaccine that protects against more strains of bacteria than the...

PLoS Medicine journal bans tobacco-sponsored research

The online open-access journal PLoS Medicine said this week that it would no longer accept for publication reports of research sponsored...

Study sheds light on 'teenage night owl syndrome'

Riding in school buses in the early morning, then sitting in poorly lighted classrooms are the main reasons students have trouble getting to...

St. Louis company strikes deal with Poland for isotope that is crucial to medical tests

As U.S. physicians face an impending crisis caused by lack of a crucial isotope used in many diagnostic procedures, a U.S. company said...

Albert M. Kligman dies at 93; dermatologist developed acne, wrinkle treatments and experimented on prisoners

Dr. Albert M. Kligman, a dermatologist who developed the acne drug Retin-A and the antiwrinkle cream Renova but who may be remembered...

Early-pregnancy weight gain linked to gestational diabetes

Women have long been told that gaining weight before becoming pregnant or being overweight at the start of pregnancy puts them at higher...

Federal panel sounds alarm on national hypertension 'emergency'

Doctors and patients aren't doing anywhere near enough to fight hypertension, a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke, an...

Genetics and Proposition 8

Human sexual orientation has deep biological roots.

U.S. turns to Sweden as model in nuclear waste storage

If the United States is at a loss over what to do about nuclear waste, it may be time to check out the Swedish model.

FDA calls for limits on asthma drugs

The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday called for putting new limits on powerful and long-lasting bronchial drugs that millions of...