After 30 Years, Why Don't We Have An HIV Vaccine?
Three studies published Thursday make modest advances toward finally developing a vaccine against HIV. Despite billions of dollars in funding, researchers say they’re still far from solving one of the hardest scientific problems of our time.
Prisoners With Liver Disease Aren't Getting Treated Because Of Costs
A class-action lawsuit filed against the Massachusetts Department of Correction alleges that the state is violating prisoners' constitutional rights by not providing them with hepatitis C drugs.
7 Ways The Bird Flu Will Screw Up Your Breakfast And Life
The biggest bird flu ever in the U.S. has forced farmers to euthanize more than 47 million birds. Here's what that means for the egg market, state fairs, and your health.
Man Gets Four Years In Prison For Selling Toxic Bleach As Miracle Cure For Autism
The Department of Justice charged a man for peddling industrial bleach as a miracle cure for AIDS, cancer, autism, and lots of other ailments. The product, called Miracle Mineral Supplement, is still available to purchase from several websites.
Experts Slam Sports Policies That Ban Women With High Testosterone
There’s no good reason to exclude female athletes based on their hormone levels, researchers argue in a controversial new paper.
Does Biotech Need Limits?
A group of the world’s top scientists and bioethicists just got together to hammer out the goals and limits of 21st-century biotechnology. And some of them really, really don't agree.
Make-Your-Own Heroin Is Almost Here, Scientists Warn
A new study shows how to turn ordinary brewers yeast into a biological factory for producing opiates. Some scientists want to use this technology to make better painkillers. But other researchers — and the FBI — warn that this could lead to people brewing heroin at home.
Injected Painkillers Trigger Hepatitis C Spike In Four States
A new CDC study shows that a sharp rise in the number of hepatitis C cases in Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia is likely due to drug users sharing needles. Health officials warn that similar patterns may lead to more outbreaks nationwide.
HIV Outbreak In Indiana Raises Alarm Over Injected Painkillers
Indiana's HIV outbreak has spread to more than 136 people, largely due to intravenous drugs. With rising rates of prescription opioid use, more HIV and hepatitis outbreaks may be on the horizon nationwide, health officials warn.
Chinese Study Of Human Embryos Raises Fears Of Designer Babies
A Chinese research team has tweaked a gene in a handful of human embryos. The controversial experiment seems likely to prompt calls for a moratorium on engineering human embryos, even as scientists study similar DNA fixes in animals.
Baltimore Residents Protest Water Shutoffs Planned For 23,000 Homes
This spring the city’s water department will send shutoff notices to nearly 23,000 residences. Despite the threat to public health, water shutoffs happen every year in cities across the country.
Astronomers Clash Over A Giant Telescope On A Sacred Hawaiian Mountain
Construction stopped Tuesday on the $1.4 billion Thirty Meter Telescope in the face of protests from Hawaiians who believe its location is sacred. The fight has astronomers asking whether a pristine view of the stars trumps the beliefs of people on the ground.
Johns Hopkins Sued For $1 Billion Over Unethical STD Study
More than 780 people are suing the university over its heavy involvement in unethical experiments led by the U.S. government in the 1940s that infected more than 1,000 Guatemalans with syphilis.
Here's How The TSA Is Profiling You — And Why It's Scientifically Bogus
A recent lawsuit and leaked documents have scientists reeling over how the TSA is using junk science to screen for terrorists. “We are all horrified,” one scientist said.
There’s Arsenic In Cheap Wine — And Pretty Much Everything Else You Eat
A class-action lawsuit filed last week against two dozen California wineries alleges that some of the state’s most popular vinos are laced with dangerous levels of arsenic. But independent scientists say there’s nothing to worry about.
Most Parents Don't Know Their Babies' Blood Is Given To Scientists — But That May Change
A new bill in California is trying to tighten the reins on how the state collects newborn blood. Privacy advocates worry about government control of millions of citizens’ DNA, but scientists say the bill will put babies in danger.
Countries Reeling From Ebola Are Facing A Big Measles Threat
The Ebola outbreak left clinics in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone unable to perform routine vaccinations. This makes them vulnerable to a measles epidemic that could kill as many people as Ebola did, experts say.
"Natural" Sex Supplements Are Actually Spiked With Viagra
In the past week, the Food and Drug Administration has uncovered at least 25 herbal supplements that contain the active ingredients in Viagra and other pharmaceutical drugs. The supplements endanger customers who have no idea what's in the pills they're popping, experts say.
Pain Pill Use Drops While Heroin Overdoses Skyrocket
As doctors crack down on the misuse of prescription painkillers, more people are turning to heroin — and dying because of it.
No, Head Transplants Are Definitely Not Going To Happen
An Italian surgeon is making headlines with the claim that he's found a way to transplant human heads onto new bodies. But that's complete nonsense.