The weekly report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the dead and dying is morbidly fascinating. In both men and women, heart disease and cancer are #1 and #2 killers, respectively. However, everything changes after that. 

If you have a long commute that consists of sitting on a bus, train or car, it may be time to think differently. A new study found that biking to work reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer and all causes of mortality. So, if you want an easy way to make a big improvement in your health, jump on your bike the next time you head to work.  

English researchers have "found a new group of cells in the retina that directly affect the biological clock." It's a finding that could lead to eye medication to improve sleep patterns, providing solutions for jet-lag sufferers and drowsy, night-shift workers alike.

The IARC monograph program on Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks must be reformed and brought into the 21st century – or it should be abolished

Recent research has forged a new reason to take B vitamin supplements — protection from the deleterious cardiovascular effects of air pollution. But the data are far from conclusive and much more work will have to support these results before their utility is proven. In the meantime, don't hold your breath.

Bacteria were conquered, at least temporarily, when modern antibiotics arrived on the scene. But the scene has changed. The bugs are fighting back and winning, which is putting us in a dangerous mess. In this chapter of his multi-part series, "What Will the Next Plague Be?" Dr. Steve Schow examines what can happen if we don't come up with better weapons against resistant bacteria.

One way to learn about how antibiotics work is to visualize their accumulation within bacterial cells. But this is no easy feat. So, a team of researchers from Penn State University and the pharmaceutical and biotechnology giant Novartis set about inventing a new technique.

Are there roles for others – those creatively or empathetically inclined to contribute to the field of medicine – that don't involve participating in the arduous, traditional medical school track? The answer: An emphatic yes!

A history professor at the University of Michigan claimed that carbon dioxide is deadlier than Sarin gas. Although it seemed implausible to the Council's chief chemist, the prof's claim was even more false than we imagined. The things you learn.

It's one year after Berkeley, CA instituted a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages, and the results are in. Among them: there was no significant  drop in caloric intake, even using self-reports and their known limitations. So consumers paid a bit more and saw no benefit.