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History teaches us that keeping children at home early in an outbreak can save lives. My research on the long history of epidemics has taught me that when it comes [...]

Ann Arbor, Mich. WHEN we say that someone is ''addicted'' to a behavior like gambling or eating or playing video games, what does that mean? Are such compulsions really akin [...]

Ann Arbor, Mich. IN December, the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity made an unprecedented request: it asked the editors of the journals Nature and Science not to publish certain [...]

For millions of us he was the perfect physician, even if he never existed. Every week from 1969 to 1976, viewers would tune to ABC in time to catch that [...]

Recently I found myself on the outskirts of an antivaccine rally in my hometown, listening to a succession of ill-informed diatribes with a mixture of dismay and fascination. As a [...]

In October 1909, Dr. Alexander Lambert boldly announced to a New York Times reporter that he had found a surefire cure for alcoholism and drug addiction. Even more astounding, he [...]

'Mamma has been in the habit of whipping and beating me almost every day,' the little girl testified. 'She used to whip me with a twisted whip -- a rawhide. […]

It was a raunchy, troubling and hilarious novel that turned into a cult phenomenon devoured by a legion of medical students, interns, residents and doctors. It introduced characters like 'Fat […]

ALL epidemics are different in their own way, and the current swine flu outbreak -- which by Friday had sickened 141 people in 19 states, and caused deaths and illness […]

Like most patients assigned to my substance abuse clinic these days, John, a stylish 22-year-old cosmetology student, did not arrive voluntarily. After two drunken driving violations, one in which another […]

Early one morning, I visited my daughter's 5-year-old friend Eddie, who was laid up in the hospital the night after an emergency appendectomy. Understandably, Eddie looked miserable. Just as understandably, […]

The Claremont Riding Academy, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, shut its doors for good a few months ago. As the oldest continuously operated stable in New York City, […]

For many Americans, the tobacco industry's disingenuousness became a matter of public record during a Congressional hearing on April 14, 1994. There, under the withering glare of Representative Henry A. […]

SOME 3.6 billion prescriptions were purchased in the United States in 2005, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, an increase of more than 70 percent compared with the number in […]

As my wife and I left a movie theater one night, my cellphone rang. Our baby sitter was calling to inform us about a strange, rough rash racing across the […]

WILD birds have completed their seasonal migration, and it appears that the United States has dodged the avian flu threat for now. The pattern of the semiannual migration itself provides […]

Every Thursday evening, I counsel a group of teenagers with serious substance abuse problems. None of the youngsters elected to see me. Typically, they were caught using drugs, or worse, […]

IN the late 1990's, the tobacco companies made a historic legal settlement with every state and the District of Columbia, agreeing to pay $246 billion over 25 years for tobacco […]

Since it opened its doors on May 1, 1909, Walter Reed Hospital in Washington has been a healing destination for hundreds of thousands of American soldiers, several presidents and luminaries […]

For much of the first half of the 20th century, polio conjured up every parent's worst nightmare: children who could not walk without steel braces; others imprisoned in large tank […]

POLITICIANS, executives, professors and even a Notre Dame football coach have sabotaged themselves in recent years by embellishing their resumes. Last week, as reported in The New York Times, Dr. […]

The word penicillin conjures images of the modern age of antibiotics, when doctors have the tools to cure their patients of infections that once killed with a vengeance. In 1928, […]

One of the most crucial bonds between patient and physician is the absolute promise of confidentiality. Most people are simply not comfortable discussing sensitive topics unless this promise is proffered […]

For more than a century, Americans have expressed confidence that an ever-increasing, well-trained cadre of physicians and medical scientists will protect and enhance their health. So for much of this […]

Ever since 1972, when the American public first learned about the Tuskegee syphilis research that subjected African-American men to scientific experiments without their consent, the medical profession has had much […]

With the progress in the medical treatment for H.I.V. over the past decade, unsafe sexual practices have risen and prevention efforts stalled. And when it comes to being infected with […]

While progress has been made in combating alcoholism and drug addiction in the United States, the medical establishment is still failing in large numbers to diagnose the disease in their […]

We all expect our doctors to wash their hands before examining us, let alone before performing an operation, to prevent the spread of infection. But surprisingly, the lifesaving power of […]

Riding the subway during a visit to New York, I noticed the woman next to me busily massaging her hands with a lotion soap guaranteed to kill '99.9 percent of […]

As parents pack their children off to college this week, they would be wise to add one more piece of advice to protect the health of their offspring: make sure […]

Much of the knowledge about the relationship between diet and disease has been developed over the last century. In those decades, many health experts devoted their lives to conducting research […]

For more than a century, millions of American parents have relied on a library of advice books written by experts on virtually every aspect of their children's health, safety and […]

In many respects, Michael Lagana is a typical 17-year-old. A junior at Dundalk High School in Maryland, he carries a full load of courses, loves playing football, and works after […]

Jose Martinez, a 29-year-old Dominican immigrant who runs a bodega on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, almost always manages to find whatever his customers need on his store's bulging […]

IN years to come, drug addiction will probably be treated like hypertension, diabetes and other chronic, relapsing diseases: with a variety of medications prescribed in the doctor's office. This month, […]

AS Labor Day flickers on the horizon, many Americans are doubtless patting themselves on their sunscreen-slathered backs for avoiding excessive sun exposure. But this month, several scientists trotted out a […]

The barrage of images and stories depicting doctors battling death have become standard fare today. Even the doors of the operating room, once the exclusive domain of surgeons, have been […]

Dr. Harold T. Shapiro, the economist and former university president, tackled some of the most contentious ethical issues in medicine, including stem cell research and the cloning of human cells, […]

Even though I completed my residency 13 years ago, I will never forget the night when, as resident on call, I admitted 12 patients and was paged with the news […]

Recently one morning, I received an urgent call from the mother of an 18-year-old named Daniel, whom I treat for marijuana abuse. For most of the past few years, Daniel […]

Like most pediatricians, Dr. Eric Poon usually obtains a child's weight and height during an examination and records them on a set of standardized growth charts. This allows him to […]

AT this late date, few Americans need to be warned that ours is a nation of expanding waistlines. But two studies released last week point to a particularly insidious dimension […]