Health Updates  Learn about the latest developments in health and health science. Health Updates focus on the news behind the headlines we see and hear.

Newsmakers  Read interviews with prominent researchers who share their roles in current health research.

Don't miss the latest Newsmaker Interview with Dr. RoseMarie Robertson, American Heart Association president, who talks about the war against heart disease.

This is one of a continuing series of interviews with leading newsmakers in the field of health research. We will be getting updates from experts in the fields of cardiology, oncology, rheumatology, neurology, genomics and other specialty areas.

More News  Find more Updates articles and Newsmaker interviews in our archives.

• Preventing Prion Disease Could genetically altering cattle so they don't create any natural prions help in the fight against Mad Cow Disease? Virginia researchers embark on a novel approach to the problem of prion disease. (01/19/04)
  
  
• It's a Small World Researchers have built a guitar about the size of a red blood cell, and can play it too. (12/31/03)
  
  
• Childhood Obesity- a Growing Problem One in eight school children has a cluster of risk factors that means they will likely develop heart disease and possibly diabetes at an age far younger than their parents or grandparents. (12-15-03)
  
  
• HIV Vax- The Next Generation An effective vaccine remains the elusive but essential goal of biological researchers around the world. A new generation of vaccines now entering clinical trials could represent an important new front in the battle against AIDS. (12/01/02)
   
  
• Hormone Replacement Therapy Reconsidered (HRT) Once considered a boon to women during and after menopause, the risks of hormone supplementation now appear to outweigh the putative benefits, at least in some patients. (7/17/02)
   
  
• The Eyes Have It   New technologies could help ensure public health and safety as security sytems that scan the iris of the eye may soon help speed you through those long lines at the airport. (6/17/02)
  
  
• Meow Mix Cat Clone Having already cloned cattle, pigs and goats, researchers at Texas A&M University have moved on to house pets, with the first successful cloning of a common house cat. (2/15/02)
  
  
• Asexual Stem Cell Production The parthenogenetic creation of primate embryos with subsequent production of stem cells suggests a new, perhaps somewhat less ethically controversial direction in research aimed at treating human diseases with stem cell-derived therapies. (2/5/02)
  
  
• Prehistory of Art The discovery of Paleolithic art in a cave in South Africa is causing researchers to consider an older and less Euro-centric view of the origins of what is considered 'modern behavior'. (1/10/02)
  
  
• Slowing Vision Loss Macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in the Western world, has no cure and no truly effective treatment. Now researchers are happy to have discovered a treatment that at least slows the development of the disease in the form of a potent combination of antioxidant vitamins.11/7/01
  
  
• Nobel Biology Three biologists share this year's Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for helping to unlock the secrets of the cell cycle, findings with broad implications in biology and medicine.10/17/01
  
  
• Anthrax Research New findings reported by Harvard biologists may help explain how anthrax does it damage and could lead to new strategies to prevent infection. 10/08/01
  
  
• Whale Tale A combination of molecular biological sleuthing and good old fashioned paleontology now suggests that hippos and whales share a branch on the family tree, with one branch staying at least partly land based and the other heading for the water full time. 9/24/01
  
  
• Disaster Response The unspeakable tragedy of recent events casts a pall of fear and uncertainty around the world. Teachers and parents are on the front lines when it comes to helping children deal with disaster. We provide here some resources we hope may help in this task. 9/12/01
  
  
• Attacking Alzheimer's Decades of painstaking basic research in the laboratory into the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease may soon pay off in the form of new screening methods and treatments for the devastating neurological disorder. 8/3/01
  
  
• Future Vision Ophthalmic surgeons, the ones who brought us intraocular lenses for cataract treatment and LASIK for improvement of visual acuity using a laser, are now setting their sights on presbyopia, the gradual loss of near vision that accompanies aging. 7/21/01
  
  
• Stem Cell Debate Stem cell researchers find themselves in the media klieg lights once again, following the release of a new study on harvesting stem cells from embryonic human cells created specifically for that purpose. 7/11/01
  
  
• Glee for Gleevec Rarely has the world of cancer research seen such enthusiasm as that surrounding the approval of new treatment called Gleevec. The new drug represents a new highly targeted approach to cancer treatment. 6/21/01
  
  
• Sizing Up the Brain From the time of Aristotle, humans have attempted to define the distinctions between themselves and all of the other animals. This has been accompanied by questions about the nature of human nature and the soul. A series of new studies of the brain suggest new ways to look at these fundamental questions. 5/14/01

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