Melanoma – the most deadly form of skin cancer – kills an estimated 10,000 Americans per year, with the death toll rising each year. Yet there is no consensus in the medical community on a uniform, data-based protocol to screen for the disease. Now, scores of those who study and treat melanoma are banding together to address that.

Older mothers may be better – or maybe not. But when a study is based on moms' answers to a questionnaire about their own children, it's also possible that older mothers just think their children are more perfect than how younger moms view their kids.  

Cats are independent, untrainable and don't really bond with people — at least that's their generally-accepted reputation. But a recent study suggests that cats actually like interacting with people — maybe even more than they like food. Who knew?
 

Apparently, you can make any claim with an Asterisk (*), so long as the asterisk clarifies that your claim isn't true. In one of Dr. Oz's latest press releases, the TV 'doc' touts apple cider vinegar (or any vinegar) as a miracle health benefit: it improves blood flow, prevents diabetes, encourages weight loss, and prevents cancer. But not too long ago on the Dr. Oz show, he caveats his claims by saying this: "

It was another week of us doing what we do best: separating health scares from health threats. So when we get pushback from those in the health-scare business – a shifty faction that includes academic journalism professors and a former bureaucrat who insists checking your email will give you brain cancer – it's time for us to get busy.

Pain patients are experiencing a world of trouble. If their pain itself wasn’t enough, the CDC added to their agony by issuing a restriction on primary care physicians. As guest writer Richard Lawsen explains, the "guideline" focuses on prescription of opioid medications to adults with long-lasting non-cancer pain – using methodology that's deeply flawed. 

Jade Erick was interested in holistic health but she ended up anything but healthy. The 30-year-old California woman died after receiving an intravenous dose of turmeric, a spice that has not been shown to offer any health benefits whatsoever. Of course this won't stop Joe "Big Dough" Mercola from selling it on his website. The ridiculous claims are free. 

Statistics is difficult, and choosing the proper tools becomes more challenging as experiments become more complex. That's why it's not uncommon for large genetics or epidemiological studies to have a biostatistician as a co-author. Perhaps more biomedical studies should follow suit.

Dr. Carson, the secretary of Housing and Urban Development, was a pioneer in the field of pediatric neurosurgery. He catapulted to world-renowned status in that arena as the principal surgeon in a 22-hour operation separating conjoined twins, who were attached at the head.

The key to preventing Alzheimer's Disease may lie in the North Atlantic island of Iceland. Its relatively homogeneous population has been a treasure trove for genetic researchers looking for mutated genes that either increase or decrease the disease's risk.