Rob Stein

Fetuses in the third trimester responded more often to patterns that resembled faces than patterns that did not. The findings don't mean fetuses can recognize their parents' faces before they're born.

Research indicates a significant number of the tumors detected through mammography are small because they are prone to slow growth. The findings suggest many are unlikely to become life-threatening.

The CDC says health care facilities such as nursing homes and hospitals need to work harder to prevent contamination with the bacterium that causes the potentially life-threatening form of pneumonia.

The administration's proposed budget would cut billions out of health programs at the NIH, CDC and FDA, as well as Medicaid services for children, the elderly and disabled.

Researchers printed gelatin scaffolds into which they placed ovarian tissue, and then implanted the new organs in mice. Three out of seven female mice produced healthy offspring using the technology.

African-Americans experienced a drop in blood pressure when they moved from highly segregated neighborhoods to more integrated areas, according to a study that followed people's health for decades.

In New York, hundreds of scientists discussed a highly ambitious and controversial project. They want to create synthetic genetic codes for all kinds of creatures — including the human genetic code.

Geographic inequality in life span is growing in the United States, with people in some counties living more than 20 years longer than those in others.

The CDC says the death rate for black Americans fell 25 percent over 17 years and was especially dramatic for those 65 and older. But young black people are still dying earlier than white Americans.

The device kept fetal lambs alive for about a month, allowing them to continue to mature. It has not been tested in humans, and some say the device raises ethical questions.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force proposes each man decide with his doctor whether to undergo routine PSA testing, citing recent evidence of benefits and ways to minimize downsides of screening.

Scientists have assembled a lab system from living tissue that can replicate a woman's 28-day hormonal cycle. The goal is to use the system to find new ways to treat a host of women's health problems.

Some recent studies in synthetic biology, they say, raise new questions about the ethical limits of creating entities that might feel pain or resemble human embryos — or mimic humans in other ways.

The National Institutes of Health, which funds research in treatments and cures, could lose 20 percent of its budget under the administration's proposal. More money would go for addiction treatment.

Three patients were blinded after getting stem cells from fat at a Florida clinic. But a research study showed that induced pluripotent stem cells might someday help treat vision loss.

An international consortium of researchers has synthesized about a third of the genetic code of baker's yeast. It's an important milestone in science's quest to create complex "synthetic life."

Embryo-like entities are being created in a New York lab using human embryonic stem cells. Scientists hope to learn more about the earliest stages of human development without using actual embryos.

Researchers who study developing human embryos have long limited their experimentation to lab embryos that are no more than 14 days into development. Some scientists are now pushing that boundary.

The National Academy of Medicine and National Academy of Sciences say a long-standing taboo on editing human genes could be lifted — even if the changes can be carried through to future generations.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is about to acquire strong new powers to quarantine people to prevent or stop a dangerous outbreak. It's a step being welcomed by many public health authorities as long overdue, but raising fears the new authority could violate civil liberties.