Magician James Randi, skeptics launch attack on makers of homeopathic 'drugs'

Magician James Randi, who has devoted the latter part of his career to exposing fraud, scams and charlatans, and a network of skeptics known as the 10:23 Campaign launched a major campaign Saturday against the manufacturers of so-called homeopathic drugs, charging that the companies that sell the drugs are packaging worthless products that are cheating customers out of their money.

Perhaps women doctors earn less than men because discrimination is alive and well, readers say

Earlier this week, I wrote about an intriguing study in the journal Health Affairs that looked at the pay gap between men and women doctors at the start of their careers. The researchers surmised that the $16,819 difference in starting pay (favoring men, not surprisingly) was actually a sign of progress because it must be signaling the ability of women to choose jobs that have more flexible hours, less night and weekend call, and other family-friendly attributes – an option that didn’t even exist in the not-too-distant past.

Talk Back: Sick of the new dietary guidelines already? Do they even matter?

Eat less food. Choose more fruits and vegetables. Drink water. Cut back on salt. Sigh.

Talking with family at mealtime may mean better health for kids with asthma

Families who eat dinner at home together tend to have more nourishing meals, but there may be other health benefits as well. A study finds that having quality family interactions at mealtime was linked with better overall health for children with asthma.

You are what you tweet -- and where you tweet it, study finds

Think Twitter and other social media networks would cause people all over the world to start talking in the exact same way? Not so, say researchers from Carnegie Mellon University. In fact, the opposite may be true: Regional differences may even be finding space to evolve within Twitter.

Rodent of the Week: Predicting which prostate cancers will spread

Prostate cancers grow slowly in many men but aggressively in others. New research suggests that a group of four molecular markers found in some tumors can be used to predict whether the cancer will spread.

Nutrition Lab: Should I add these foods to my diet?

New federal dietary guidelines released Monday urge Americans to eat less -- and cut back on salt and sugar. The overall goal is to eat more healthy foods. Nutrition Lab examines five food products and how they score on the healthy scale. Image 1 of 5

Two Guys Lose Weight: Day 1 of Cookie Diet

NOTE: This is a blog about two guys attempting to lose weight over a six-week period.  They kicked off their weight loss "strategies" on Jan. 10.

Policy uncertainty hampers stem cell research, study says

When U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth issued an injunction last August cutting off federal funding for research with human embryonic stem cells, he wrote that he did so because  plaintiffs in an unresolved lawsuit who studied adult stem cells would "suffer irreparable injury in the absence of the injunction," while human embryonic stem cell researchers' work would remain unaffected.

Children's body mass index rises the longer mom works

Children's chances of becoming overweight rise the longer their mothers work outside the home, researchers said Friday.

How safe are breast implants? This Web chat Friday has answers

Breast implants made news recently when the Food and Drug Administration said they might be linked to a rare form of cancer in a very small number of women. The risk is extremely small, but women who have them likely have some questions. This plastic surgeon can help sort it out.

Worldwide obesity rates have almost doubled since 1980, but some countries show improvements in high blood pressure, cholesterol

Obesity rates around the world have about doubled between 1980 and 2008, but not all the news is bad--some countries have shown a decline in average blood pressure and cholesterol levels and a leveling off of body mass index.

Shingles can come back. Yes it can

Shingles is typically thought of as a once-in-a-lifetime (miserable) experience. But wait! Shingles can recur, even among healthy adults.

VitaminWater's health claims scoffed at by consumer group

VitaminWater isn't as benign, much less as healthy, as some consumers might think, critics say. And now one of those critics -- the National Consumers League -- has taken this complaint to the Federal Trade Commission.

Concussion test moves toward the playing field

A two-minute test that can be administered on the sidelines of a sporting event revealed the disruptive effects of brain trauma as reliably as a longer and more unwieldy concussion test used by the U.S. military, according to a study published this week online in the journal Neurology.

Researchers find gene at root of rare hardening of arteries

National Institutes of Health researchers have discovered a gene that causes a rare but extremely painful buildup of calcium in the arteries of legs and hands, the first mystery that has been solved in the NIH's Undiagnosed Disease Program. Although researchers have so far identified only nine patients with the ailment, they suspect that identifying the cause of the problem will provide insight into much more common disorders.

Scientists celebrate the human genome

It has been 10 years since scientists sequenced the human genome and published the results.

Heart disease -- learn about it in February, fight it the rest of the year

Heart disease, heart health, cardiovascular risk factors ... the terms will appear in infinite variety this month, as will the color red. If you don't know why (Valentine's Day is only part of the reason), you haven't been paying attention: February is American Heart Month and the American Heart Assn. has ramped up its Go Red for Women campaign. If you have been paying attention, good -- we can move on to more specific information.

Osteoporosis medication extends life by five years

Osteoporosis medications called bisphosphonates are known to reduce the risk of bone fractures. But they also appear to extend life -- although researchers don't yet know how they do this.

Two Guys Lose Weight: Nutrisystem beats Fatburger in ultimate showdown

The following is a blog documenting two Los Angeles Times editors' attempts to lose weight. It all began on Jan. 10.