The ?car key conversation? is a dreaded milestone of eldercare and one that adult children dread most.

No matter how much you train in the heat, it will never be easy, athletes and researchers say.

A woman?s desire to avoid life in a nursing home forces a country to confront the thorny ethical issue and casts an assisted-suicide advocate as Germany?s Jack Kevorkian.

European Union residents would be able to receive most health care treatment anywhere in the 27-nation bloc without prior authorization under a proposal published on Wednesday.

Technogym, an exercise equipment maker, is expanding its reach to countries with few health clubs, in a strategy to survive an economic downturn in the United States.

The Agriculture Department is warning that the beef supplied by a Nebraska company may be responsible for at least 40 illnesses.

Diabetes drugs would be subject to more stringent safety standards under recommendations made Wednesday by a government panel.

The government is about to start testing numerous other types of fresh produce in the hunt for the source of the nation?s record salmonella outbreak.

Can hookworms protect against allergies? In a quest to find out, David Pritchard infected himself.

New papers illustrate the continuing power of Stanley Milgram?s shock experiments ? and the interpretations they still inspire.

Improvements in scanning techniques are making it easier to see microbleeds in the brain, but it?s unclear what should be done about them.

A new report provides the most complete rough draft to date of the electrical architecture of the brain?s cerebral cortex.

The World Health Organization said that the new test promises to help significantly improve treatment and prevent the spread of the airborne infection.

How does dried fruit compare with fresh fruit in nutritional value?

While food companies have reduced portion sizes to respond to concerns about overeating, a new study shows that small packages can also lead to over-consumption.

Central Park was designed for refuge, discovery and communing with society. 150 years later, its 843 acres are a paradise for runners.

A new study suggests that Chinese red yeast rice reduced the risk of repeat heart attacks in people who have already had one.

Pressured by the nation?s athletic system, China?s Olympic aspirants are pushing themselves to their limits.

The Congressional Black Caucus is demanding that menthol cigarettes not be exempted from a bill that would ban flavored cigarettes.

Flurizan, a drug developed by Myriad Genetics to treat Alzheimer?s disease, failed in a closely watched late-stage clinical trial, dealing another blow to efforts to combat the illness.

Driven by financial incentives, many doctors are adopting CT scans, but there is scant evidence they benefit most patients.

Medicare will delay processing doctors? claims to give Congress time to pass legislation that would block a scheduled 10 percent cut in payments.

The last two months have been one of the deadliest periods in the history of the fast-growing industry of medical helicopters.

As the number of uses for Botox grows, it is no surprise that reports of unwanted effects are growing, too.

Food poisoning typically spikes this time of year, and mayonnaise always attracts suspicion.

Vision, hearing, sexual function ? you name it, diabetes harms it.

Making the effort to understand a medical condition and the details of how best to treat it really pays off.

Why Americans want to believe that our mental states can control our physical maladies.

A history of the bacteria shows how the study of tiny creatures has helped answer some of science?s biggest questions.

Two books muster science, statistics and a judicious smattering of personal experience to present opposite advice.

I have been hearing physician colleagues voice a level of dissatisfaction with medical practice that is alarming.

It looked like a stroke, it felt like a stroke, but the tests said it wasn?t a stroke.

The physician-patient contract gives a doctor the right to dismiss a patient, but could I fire a patient because I didn?t like his mother?

In this collection, the writer-physician Sherwin B. Nuland explores phenomena that can?t be explained by modern science ? and challenge his profession?s often unreflective reliance on technology.