Here you can find out how the practice of medicine is changing. We pull together the latest research on medical tests, drugs and other therapies.
by Martha Bebinger
WBURSmartphone apps can help count calories or detect a heart attack. People are embracing them to manage many aspects of their health. But medical apps are largely unregulated now, so there's no easy way to be sure which ones are trustworthy and which ones aren't.
by Rob Stein
Fecal transplants are being used more often to treat life-threatening bacterial infections. But the Food and Drug Administration worried that the still-experimental procedure put patients at risk. Now it is dropping plans to restrict transplants after doctors and patients complained.
by Anna Haensch
Conventional wisdom holds that men prefer younger women as mates because they're more fertile than older women. But a mathematical analysis suggests that this preference may be the cause of menopause rather than a consequence of it.
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Steve Henn and Cindy Carpien
An enterprising carpenter and a creative puppeteer teamed up on a do-it-yourself project to build a mechanical hand for a little boy. They created an inexpensive prosthetic and published their designs on the Internet. So far, over 100 children have been outfitted.
by Rhitu Chatterjee
Though the regulation proposed by the Fish and Wildlife Service would make it more difficult to use chimpanzees for research purposes, that may not be a problem, some scientists say. Scientific advances show the animals are less medically useful than previously thought.
by Nancy Shute
Treating depression is a hit-or-miss process; the first treatment works less than half the time. Scientists say they may be able to use PET brain scans to tell whether antidepressants or cognitive behavioral therapy will work best. But tailored treatments are still far off.
by Jenny Gold
KHNInstead of waiting for individual hospitals to apply to build proton centers, a health planning council solicited proposals, promising to favor collaborative approaches. A five-hospital group that teamed with a private company got the go-ahead to build in New York City.
by Michaeleen Doucleff
Since the 1970s, doctors around the world have reported cases in which young kids regrow fingertips if an accident leaves some of the fingernail. Now scientists have figured out how this lizard-like regeneration happens in mice and suspect the same mechanism works in young humans.
by Nancy Shute
Children are getting too many CT scans, a study says, and that's boosting their risk of cancer later on. Parents can ask for alternatives like ultrasound and MRI or ask for CT scans that use less radiation.
by Scott Hensley
There's more evidence that the anesthetic ketamine, sometimes abused as a club drug, has potential as a fast-acting treatment for depression. But patients relapse quickly after treatment with the drug.
