Rob Stein

Researchers find that babies lacking four types of bacteria in their guts at 3 months appear to have a higher risk for developing asthma later in life.

A lab in Seoul is the only place in the world known to commercially clone dogs. But often the dog clones are sickly, critics say, and many other dogs are subjected to surgery to make a clone.

Republicans are pushing to strip Planned Parenthood of federal funding. The organization's popularity has held steady, highlighting a risk for the GOP. But there's danger for Democrats, too.

The Duponts in Louisiana loved their mutt Melvin so much they jumped at the chance to replicate him. Melvin is gone now, but he has left behind two clones, Ken and Henry.

Critics say research on fetal tissue is no longer needed to answer crucial medical questions. But National Institutes of Health officials and other scientists say alternatives don't yet measure up.

The Food and Drug Administration should gather more information to try to get a better sense of the safety of the Essure sterilization device, a panel of experts assembled by the agency recommended Thursday.

"To be honest, we don't know what we don't know," said Dr. Cheryl B. ...

You're not just shedding microbes on every surface you touch. Research suggests you're actually walking around in an airborne plume of bacteria and other microscopic organisms that's unique to you.

It's the only available, nonsurgical permanent birth control option that's FDA-approved. But thousands of women have complained of serious side effects like severe pain, heavy bleeding and depression.

British scientists announced Friday that they had applied for permission to edit the DNA in human embryos, a controversial step that has provoked intense debate around the world.

Kathy Niakan of The Francis Crick Institute in London and colleagues filed an application with the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority ...

Last year's flu vaccine didn't work very well. This year's version should do a much better job protecting people against the flu, federal health officials said Thursday.

An analysis of the most common strains of flu virus that are circulating in the United States and elsewhere found they match

The Food and Drug Administration exercised its regulatory power to compel a tobacco company to stop selling cigarettes after the maker failed to show they don't raise new public health issues.

A huge federal study was halted early when a preliminary analysis of the results found clear evidence that lowering blood pressure can slash heart attacks, strokes, heart failure and deaths.

Scientists have discovered the first new human disease caused by a "prion" in more than 50 years. Prions are strange, deformed proteins that can act like viruses and bacteria.

The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday ordered three tobacco companies to stop claiming their cigarettes are "additive-free" or "natural."

The agency said those claims could mislead smokers into thinking those cigarettes are safer than others.

The move marks the first time the FDA has taken this kind of ...

A new study renews questions about how aggressively doctors should treat a very early form of breast cancer or pre-cancer.

For the first time, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has signed off on a prescription drug intended to increase sexual desire in women. The nickname for the daily pill is "pink Viagra."

The daily pill, called Addyi, modestly increased women's interest in sex in clinical tests. The approval was praised by some women's advocates as a milestone and condemned by others as irresponsible.

The assortment of microbes in a pregnant woman's vagina appears to play a role in her chances of giving birth prematurely, new research suggests.

The study of 49 pregnant women, published in this week's Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that those who had a diverse array ...

The agency is giving food companies a hard deadline to stop using trans fats in processed foods. It has determined that partially hydrogenated oils are not "generally recognized as safe" for food.

Kevin Lopez was born missing the fingers on his right hand. Now 20, Lopez has been on a waiting list for a hand transplant since turning 18.