Nancy Shute

The last thing my 11-year-old does before she goes to sleep is put her iPod on the nightstand. And that could mean less sleep for her, researchers say.

There's plenty of evidence that children who have televisions in their rooms get less sleep. This is one of the first studies ...

If you're resolved to quit smoking this year, it's arguably the one best thing you could do for your health. But it's not easy, so every bit of help is a good thing.

People who used both state-sponsored telephone quit lines and newer Web-based services to quit smoking were more ...

Part of the fun we have here at Shots is never knowing what the day will bring. There are always so many intriguing stories that come our way.

Among the more than 1,000 pieces we published in 2014, a few really stood out. Even before crunching the numbers, we could ...

Ebola may have slid off the nation's worry list, but that doesn't mean the United States is ready to handle an outbreak of Ebola or another infectious disease, an analysis says. That includes naturally occurring outbreaks like dengue fever, tuberculosis and measles, as well as the use of bioterrorism agents ...

There was a significant drop in the number of executions and death penalty sentences in 2014, a new report by the Death Penalty Information Center finds.

The group's year-end accounting finds that:

-- States conducted 35 executions in 2014 — the lowest since 1994.

-- And the justice system sentenced ...

Women and their doctors have a hard time figuring out the pluses and minuses of screening mammograms for breast cancer. It doesn't help that there's been fierce dissent over the benefits of screening mammography for women under 50 and for older women.

To make it easier to grasp the big ...

Lose weight and those pounds shuffle off, unmourned. Good riddance. Please don't come back soon.

But where does weight go when we lose it?

We talk about burning off fat, and it does burn in a way, going through a complex biochemical process. But mass can't be created or destroyed, ...

Radiation treatment for breast cancer could take less time and cost less for many women, but doctors aren't putting that knowledge into practice, a study finds.

And one reason is that the doctors in charge of radiation treatment will make less money, according to Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, a study ...

Surely I'm not the only person who has gone to the orthopedist figuring that the radiologist sent over the MRI, only to find out that I was supposed to have asked for a CD and a paper copy of the report. Really? That is so last century.

Since I can ...

Citing reduced risk of HIV and other sexually acquired diseases, the federal agency says health care providers should discuss circumcision with men as well as parents of infants and teen boys.

If you've seen the classic movie A Christmas Story, you know that Ralphie really, really wanted that BB gun. And you know that his mother, his teacher, even the department store Santa all said: "You'll shoot your eye out."

They're right, the nation's ophthalmologists say. And though BB guns still ...

Should you get a blood test to see if you're deficient in vitamin D? It sounds like such a good idea, seeing as how most people don't get enough sunshine to make vitamin D themselves. And the tests are becoming increasingly popular.

But there are problems with making vitamin D ...

Diabetes is an expensive disease to treat, costing the United States $244 billion in 2012, according to an analysis of the disease's economic burden.

When the loss of productivity due to illness and disability is added in, the bill comes to $322 billion, or $1,000 a year for each American, ...

I'm sure I'm not the only parent who has hovered over a newborn's crib, wondering, "Is she breathing?" Tech companies are now offering to help parents manage that anxiety with devices that monitor a baby's vital signs and beam them to a smartphone.

But that might not be such a ...

Cardiovascular risk calculators usually expect you to know your blood pressure and cholesterol numbers. I have enough trouble remembering my email password.

So this new calculator from the Harvard School of Public Health may be a boon for people like me. It's designed to more accurately gauge risk for people ...

If you've worn contact lenses, you know how easy it can be to let things slip a little. Maybe you don't wash and dry the case every day. Or you wear lenses in the shower. Or you try to eke a bit more wear out of a pair.

Well, the ...

Parents with a premature baby in the neonatal intensive care unit don't need one more thing to worry about. But researchers say that plasticizers used in medical equipment may pose unique risks to very small babies.

The chemical DEHP is used to make catheters, endotracheal tubes and other medical equipment ...

If you're gay or lesbian or bisexual or transgender, odds are that you've had a doctor flinch or flounder through an appointment. The next generation of physicians needs to do better, the Association of American Medical Colleges announced Tuesday.

The organization published a 306-page manifesto intended to change medical ...

The number of babies born too early dropped to 11.4 percent of all births in 2013, the best number in 17 years.

But that's still more than 450,000 children being born too early. Those babies face in increased risk of death, and those who survive are more likely to have ...

When a man shows up in her office with a broken wrist, Dr. Tamara Rozental will often suggest that he get his bone density checked for osteoporosis. She often gets a blank stare back.

"I may order the bone density scan and tell them they should get it, but many ...