People in their 50s or 60s may benefit from taking aspirin daily, but those who start during their 50s get the most benefit from its use in preventing a heart attack, stroke and colon cancer, according to new recommendations from a government-appointed panel of independent experts. Daily aspirin is also...

NEW ORLEANS — Colorectal cancer has been linked to a number of risk factors, such as inactivity, smoking and eating a lot of red meat. Now, a new study suggests a slightly more surprising risk factor: long legs. Compared with people who had shorter legs, those with longer legs had...

Introduction (Image credit: Ditty_about_summer | Shutterstock.com)No one knows exactly why we sleep, but researchers continue to uncover important discoveries about the mysterious phenomenon, including some that seem counterintuitive. Here are five surprising findings about human sleep: Interrupted sleep is worse than staying awake (Image credit: Photographee.eu | Shutterstock.com)Not getting enough...

Some U.S. counties have seen a 70-fold increase in drug overdose deaths in the last few decades, a new study finds. However, the areas with the highest increases in drug overdose deaths are not always the places with the most drug trafficking, as identified by the government, the study found....

Scientists have uncovered how human skin cells control pigmentation — a discovery that could lead to safer ways to tan or lighten the skin. Researchers found that skin color can be regulated by estrogen and progesterone, two of the main female sex hormones. Estrogen darkens the skin; progesterone lightens the...

The next time your mom calls you by your brother's name (or even your dog's name), don't be offended — she's probably not doing it because she thinks you look like him, a new study finds. Such misnamings, or when a person calls someone else by the wrong name, occur...

Tomatoes are ubiquitous in the American diet. They appear in sauces, salads, juices, soups and elsewhere. Their prevalence is good news; tomatoes are healthful as well as tasty and versatile. They are especially lauded for their cardiovascular benefits. Tomatoes are low in calories, (about 25 calories per one medium-size tomato)...

While most people associate muscles with strength, they do more than assist in lifting heavy objects. The 650 muscles in the body not only support movement — controlling walking, talking, sitting, standing, eating and other daily functions that people consciously perform — but also help to maintain posture and circulate...

You can't change your genes, but you can change your behavior, right? Well, a new study finds that people who have a genetic test result that tells them they are at higher risk for lung cancer or heart disease aren't likely to change their health behaviors anyway. Researchers in England...

Marijuana could potentially help cancer patients who have nausea or pain, and could possibly even be used as a treatment for certain cancers, but much more research is needed before any of these uses could be recommended, a new review article said. There is promising research on marijuana use in...

More than 2,500 babies could be diagnosed with microcephaly in Brazil if current trends within the Zika-affected country continue, the World Health Organization (WHO) told reporters today at a news conference in Geneva. To fight Zika, a vaccine against the virus and measures to control mosquitoes will be crucial, WHO...

10 Interesting Facts About Male Brains Most popular notions about the male brain are based on studies of men ages 18 to 22 — undergrads subjecting themselves to experiments for beer money or course credit. But a man's brain varies tremendously over his life span, quickly contradicting the image of...

Newer isn't always better — some researchers are proposing to bring back an older version of the whooping cough vaccine, because multiple studies show that today's version doesn't protect as well as the earlier kind. In a new study, researchers suggest vaccinating children with one dose of the older whooping...

Legionnaires' disease, a sometimes-deadly respiratory disease thought to be spread only through contaminated water, mist, vapor or soil, also may be transmitted between people, a new report of a single case in Portugal suggests. The evidence from the case shows that person-to-person transmission of [Legionnaires'] was the most plausible explanation...

A booster vaccine aimed at protecting teens against whooping cough may wear off over time, a new study suggests. In the study, researchers looked at about 1,200 cases of whooping cough (also called pertussis) that occurred among a population of about 280,000 teens in California between January 2006 and March...