Women who discover they carry a hereditary gene mutation that dramatically increases their risk of breast and ovarian cancers face big decisions and the possibility of tens of thousands of dollars in medical costs.

Should patients undergoing broad DNA testing for a specific ailment be told of unexpected findings that signal risk of cancer or other serious diseases, even if they don’t request the information?

For people who aren’t so good at math, a mild form of brain stimulation may improve your proficiency.

In research dubbed “remarkable” by an accompanying editorialist, US doctors describe how current users of marijuana appear to have better blood glucose control than never or former users.

The news that U.S. scientists have successfully cloned a human embryo seems almost certain to rekindle a political fight that has raged, on and off, since the announcement of the creation of Dolly the sheep in 1997.

Scientists have finally succeeded in using cloning to create human embryonic stem cells, a step toward developing replacement tissue to treat diseases but one that might also hasten the day when it will be possible to create cloned babies.

It has finally happened – the technique used in 1996 to make Dolly, the world’s first cloned mammal, has finally been used in 2013 to make theworld’s first cloned human embryo.

About 21% of American adults admit that they engage in risky drinking behaviors, from overindulging, which can lead to physical and mental harm, to alcohol dependence. And it remains the third leading cause of preventable death in the U.S.

A top Berlin hospital plans to investigate the conduct of drug trials in the former East Germany amid allegations that some patients were used as human guinea pigs.

According to a new study of Medicaid recipients in Oregon, increased health-care spending has only a limited impact on improving people’s health.

In the latest twist of the court fight over “Plan B” emergency contraception, a federal judge has denied the Obama administration’s request to delay his ruling ordering the government to make the pills available to everyone, without restrictions.

Genetic mutations that halt a cell’s ability to scrap unnecessary proteins may cause a condition marked by ataxia, hypogonadotrophic hypogonadism, and dementia, researchers found.

From Ireland to Turkey, Europeans are all related, sharing a link with ancestors who were alive just 1,000 years ago, according to a new genetic study.

Bone replacements that are needed due to trauma or disease like osteoarthritis, can now be grown in a patient-specific way from pluripotent skin stem cells.

The health system in the United States is in many ways so risible that it comes across as droll even when a dour German-born economist describes it.

The DSM is the past and, for the time being, the present…but it won’t be the future. The future it will be either improved or replaced by a more physiologically based set of diagnostic criteria. That may change the whole landscape for diagnosis.

Data being released for the first time shows that hospitals charge Medicare wildly differing amounts — sometimes 10 to 20 times what Medicare typically reimburses — for the same procedure.

Gun homicides have dropped steeply in the United States since their 1993 peak, a pair of reports released Tuesday showed, adding fuel to Congress’ battle over whether to tighten restrictions on firearms.

Scientists at Princeton University in the US used off-the-shelf printing tools to create a functional ear that can ‘hear’ radio frequencies beyond the range of normal human capability.

In halachic precedent, Israel’s former Chief Rabbi Eliyahu Bakshi-Doron rules life-saving organ donation can be received from HIV-positive patient, even if recipient may be infected with disease.

A team of scientists from the New York Stem Cell Foundation (NYSCF) Research Institute announced Monday the generation of patient-specific bone substitutes from skin cells capable of repairing large bone defects.

A monumental new study finds that “Medicaid coverage generated no significant improvements in measured physical health outcomes” for poor adults.

This is just one small study. Evidence shows that Medicaid has been beneficial nationwide and this study shows a range of benefits.

Just weeks before the long-awaited publication of a new edition of the so-called bible of mental disorders, the federal government’s most prominent psychiatric expert has said the book suffers from a scientific “lack of validity.”

At least one Wisconsin episcopal church has invited former Green Bay Packer LeRoy Butler for a speaking engagement in reaction to another congregation nixing a scheduled address by Butler because of his support for a gay NBA player.

Couches tested in random CA households overwhelmingly contained hazardous flame retardant chemicals that have been known to harm hormone production and cause cancer, a new study says.

Media and Latino Decisions in conjunction with The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Health Policy Center, today released key findings of a national Latino poll indicating that less than a quarter of Latinos feel well informed about the ACA.

Hannah Warren, a 2-year-old born without her trachea, was the recipient of a new windpipe grown from her own stem cells at the Children’s Hospital of Illinois.

Efforts to sequence the genomes of cancer cells — to pinpoint the changes that occur in cancer cells’ DNA when a person has the disease — are pointing to ways to target cancer treatment.

A congratulatory tweet to Jason Collins cost former Green Bay Packers safety LeRoy Butler $8,500 and a speaking engagement at a Wisconsin church.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced that it has approved an amended application submitted by Teva Women’s Health, Inc. to market Plan B One-Step (active ingredient levonorgestrel) for use without a prescription by women 15 years of age and older.

Most adults in the USA aren’t meeting the federal physical activity recommendations for both aerobic exercise and muscle-strengthening activity, according to government statistics out today.

Scientists have discovered that the most dangerous cancer of the uterine lining closely resembles the worst ovarian and breast cancers.

Lipsticks and glosses may contain potentially troubling levels of metals, according to a preliminary new study.

Richard Flora, 76, was bitten by an Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake but the family decided not to give him anti-venom and he died at hospital 11 hours later.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force finalizes its guideline that everyone 15 to 65 be screened for the virus that causes AIDS.

As more classrooms across the country roll out universal math and reading standards, a growing group of critics are pressing officials to slow their implementation or dump the learning goals entirely.

Twice this past week, the US Department of Justice filed lawsuits alleging Novartis paid kickbacks to boost prescriptions and caused federal healthcare programs to pay for medicines based on false claims.

When it comes to math, MRIs may be better than IQs — and even past math scores — at showing whether a tutor can help a child master everything from trapezoids to trigonometry.

A woman who sought a job as an administrator at Iowa Methodist Medical Center is now suing the hospital, saying it failed to make accommodations for her shy bladder syndrome.

The rise of superbugs, along with increased pressure from the government and insurers, is driving hospitals to try all sorts of new approaches to stop their spread:

Reading the DNA of fetuses is the next frontier of the genome revolution. Do you really want to know the genetic destiny of your unborn child?

Comparative effectiveness research tries to research whether one standardly used treatment is better than the others.. Yet this is exactly the kind of research that was slammed by government watchdogs and mauled in the press.

Some 7,000 light years away, Einstein’s theory of general relativity has stood up to its most intense test yet, scientists said on Thursday.

West Virginia teenager who was arrested and suspended from school after he refused to remove an NRA T-shirt is back in class.

Analyzing a newborn’s placenta will yield clues which can help diagnose the risk of the child developing autism, according to a report from Yale University.

Scientists used a 3D printer loaded with cells to create mini livers which can be infected with a disease to observe its progress through organ.  The tiny livers can also be used to monitor effectiveness of drugs.

President Barack Obama’s new strategy for fighting the nation’s drug problem will include a greater emphasis on using public health tools to battle addiction and diverting non-violent drug offenders into treatment instead of prisons.

Medical interns spend just 12 percent of their time examining and talking with patients, and more than 40 percent of their time behind a computer, according to a new Johns Hopkins study.