COVER STORY

Look at You!

There's remarkable science behind mail-order gene tests. But should buyers beware?

Sick of Waiting

Emergency room jam-ups threaten patients, inflate costs and disrupt hospital operations. Small fixes might solve this big problem.

Always On

Acute inflammation fights off infection, but the chronic kind, simmering inside most of the population, can be deadly.

Filling the Gap

Break a bone and pull it apart a millimeter a day. Seems crazy, but distraction osteogenesis is saving legs, arms and faces.

DNA Unlaced

Like shoelaces’ tips, telomeres do damage control, preserving DNA and slowing aging. What happens if we extend their expiration date?

Message from the MGH

A look at the complicated causes of ER overcrowding, by Peter L. Slavin and David F. Torchiana.

Second Opinion

Readers discuss suspended animation and administrative costs.

The Power of No

With their online Journal of Negative Results in Biomedicine, editors Christian Pfeffer and Bjorn R. Olsen are encouraging physicians to re-evaluate clinical practices based on negative data.

Bloodless Revolution

For reasons religious and medical, some surgery patients are forgoing transfusions.

Flu Central

A new study sheds light on the flu’s yearly course around the world, helping scientists refine vaccines.

Anatomy of Gray's

From hand-drawn illustrations to CD-ROM technology, Gray’s Anatomy has advanced with medicine throughout its 150-year existence.

Eyeing Clinical Trials

The United States is launching a database to remedy a lack of transparency in clinical trial results.

Hide and Seek

Video game glasses, stomach bugs and a mysterious molecule revealed.

Plug and Play

Getting the various pieces of operating room equipment to communicate with one another could save lives—but it’s easier said than done.

Bees Become Diagnosticians

Can bees smell disease?

A Cosmic Connection

Forty-three years after his death, a renowned physicist has an unexpected hand in extending his grandson’s life.