Science

Birth-Control Pills Reduce Cancer, Lengthen Women's Lives in 40-Year Study Birth-control pills may lead to longer lives for women, according to a 40-year study that showed users were less likely to die of heart disease, cancer or a range of other medical ailments.

Family DNA Maps May Speed Discoveries of Rare Disease Links, Doctors Say Fewer genetic mutations are inherited than scientists previously thought, according to two family-based studies that promise to speed the discovery of so- called disease genes.

Personalized Genetic-Based Medicine Spurred by Medco's Cost-Saving Tests Medco Health Solutions Inc., the second-biggest U.S. manager of drug benefits, is encouraging doctors to use genetic tests to determine whether drugs will work for particular patients -- saving money and reducing harm caused when prescriptions are wrong.

Heart Angiograms Show No Disease in Almost 40% of Patients, Research Shows Doctors may be sending patients too quickly for elective angiograms to detect heart disease, exposing them to radiation and driving up U.S. health-care costs, a study suggests.

Family Genome Sequence Shows Parents Pass Fewer Mutations to Children The gene sets of a four-member family were analyzed in research that suggested parents pass fewer gene mutations than thought to their offspring.

Merck's Stromectol Wipes Out Head Lice as Researchers Seek New Medicines Merck & Co.’s Stromectol tablet worked better than lotion at clearing up hard-to-treat head lice, a study found, as the infestations become increasingly resistant to current medicines.

Sex Life Ends at 70 for Most Americans Due to Poor Health, Researchers Say The average person’s sex life ends by the age of 70, according to a report published today in the British Medical Journal.

Kidney Donors Don't Shorten Their Lives by Giving Up Organ, Research Shows People who donate a kidney in the U.S. don’t die any faster than nondonors long term, according to a large study that looked at donors over 15 years.

Genital Herpes Virus Infects One in Six Americans, Study by U.S. CDC Finds Genital herpes, a condition that produces painful sores and increases transmission of AIDS, has infected one in six Americans, according to a U.S. study that shows prevention efforts haven’t stopped outbreaks.

D-Pharm Chief Says Experimental Stroke Drug May Reach Market by Late 2013 D-Pharm Ltd.’s most advanced experimental medicine, the DP-b99 stroke treatment, may reach the market as early as the end of 2013 if results from a late- stage study match those of an earlier trial, Chief Executive Officer Alex Kozak said.