Nancy Shute

It was widely thought that the grunge in inner-city housing was causing high rates of asthma. But now it looks like being exposed to just the right kinds of bacteria and vermin actually helps.

The human brain uses two different specialized regions to navigate, scientists say, with one charting a straight line to the destination, and the other figuring out the turns along the way.

Huge amounts of information about your health, your doctor and your hospital lurk in private and public databases. But putting that information to work to improve health care remains a challenge.

Each year, 1 percent of children are abused or neglected, usually by their parents. By the time children turn 18, about 1 in 8 of them is likely to have been maltreated, an analysis finds.

Shakespeare described the 15th century British king as "deformed, unfinish'd," and a hunchback. A 3-D model of his spine reveals that Richard had developed severe curvature of the spine as a teen.

Children tend to become less physically active as they move into their teenage years. But less than half of those ages 12 to 15 are meeting even minimal standards for aerobic fitness, the CDC reports.

Nobody wants to spend their final years unable to walk, but that sad fate afflicts many people as they age. A little exercise helps a lot, especially if people can do it in social groups.

Diabetes increases a person's risk of cardiovascular disease, but for women that risk is 40 percent higher, a study finds. Just why that's happening is a mystery.

More than two-thirds of women who had a double mastectomy after a cancer diagnosis didn't have the high risk that could be reduced by the surgery, a study finds.

Who doesn't like a contest, especially if it lets you prove that you're smarter than your peers? When doctors played a game that tests their knowledge, patients' blood pressure control improved.