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Turn on relief

It’s true what the song says: Love is the drug, especially if you’re in pain. The intense feelings of love provide an amazingly effective balm, says professor of anesthesia Sean Mackey, MD, PhD, senior author of an Oct. 13, 2010, report in the journal PLoS ONE about this discovery. MORE . . .

A gene test fails

A genetic marker touted as a predictor of coronary artery disease is no such thing, according to a massive international study led by Stanford researchers.
MORE . . .

Brain gain

Scientists have found a single protein that directs the growth of blood vessels into brains — a discovery that could help enhance blood vessel growth to fight stroke, or choke it off to starve brain tumors. MORE . . .

Picking winners

Researchers have found a way to predict within just two days after a human embryo’s fertilization whether it will develop successfully. MORE . . .

Not safe yet

Since a 1999 Institute of Medicine report sounded the alarm about high medical error rates, most U.S. hospitals have made changes in operations intended to keep patients safer. MORE . . .

Letter from the dean

Ethical medicine

THE BACKSTORY

No sale