Susceptibility to anthrax toxin is a heritable genetic trait that may vary tremendously among individuals, according to a new study by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine.

University of Utah biologists found new evidence why mice, people and other vertebrate animals carry thousands of varieties of genes to make immune-system proteins named MHCs - even though some of those genes make us susceptible to infections and to autoimmune diseases.

The future of disease diagnosis may lie in a "breathalyzer" - like technology currently under development at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The joint National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health Ecology and Evolution of Infectious Diseases Program funded the study. Scientists at Colorado State University and other institutions conducted the research. It provides evidence that domestic cats and wild cats that share the same outdoor areas in urban environments also can share diseases such as Bartonellosis and Toxoplasmosis. Both can be spread from cats to people.

In 2004, concerns about antidepressant drugs increasing suicidal thoughts and behaviors in young patients prompted the FDA to issue a rare "black box warning." Now, a new analysis of clinical trial data finds that treatment with the antidepressant fluoxetine did not increase -- or decrease -- suicidality in children compared to placebo treatment.

Treatment with three "targeted" cancer drugs has been linked to a slightly elevated chance of fatal side effects, according to a new analysis led by scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. The risk for the fatal side effects remains low, but they should be factored in when developing patients' treatment plans.

Many patients currently diagnosed with very mild or mild Alzheimer disease dementia could potentially be reclassified as having mild cognitive impairment under revised criteria for that condition, according to a report published online first by Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Smoking in men appears to be associated with more rapid cognitive decline, according to a report published online first by Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

First-time first-trimester induced abortion is not associated with an increased risk of readmission to psychiatric facilities among women with a history of a treated mental disorder, according to a report in the February issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

A study of children and adolescents who had been infected perinatally (around the time of their birth) with human immunodeficiency virus suggests little evidence of an association between specific antiretroviral therapy and the severity of psychiatric disorders, according to a report published online first by Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

A widely used universal behavioral prevention model in schools appears to be associated with lower rates of teacher-reported bullying and peer rejection, according to a report in the February issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

About half of all public and private elementary school students could buy food in one or more competitive venues on campus (vending machines, school stores, snack bars or a la carte lines) by the 2009-2010 school year and sugary foods were available to almost all students with access to these options, according to a report published in the February issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

A new scoring method can help doctors quickly decide which stroke patients will respond well to the clot-busting drug alteplase, according to a study published in the Feb. 7, 2012, print issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

The deadly soccer riot in Egypt offered a shocking view of spectator rage. Researchers from Clemson and Stetson universities report in the Journal of Service Research on factors team owners and stadium managers should assess and then control through management and marketing strategies.

A new UCSF analysis has found that a state ballot initiative to increase the cigarette tax would create about 12,000 jobs and nearly $2 billion in new economic activity in California.