COVER STORY

Super Models

Far from replacing animal testing, computer simulation is leading to smarter experiments—and the need for more animals.

One Town’s Treasure

Medicine’s debt to Framingham, Mass., is almost incalculable. And after 60 years, the famous study may be just getting started.

Shoot the Messenger

Injected RNA, which can turn off genes and halt production of harmful proteins, could profoundly affect the way we treat disease.

Claire’s Knee

Human joints wear out, and often replacements do too. Now innovative designs are improving longevity and function.

What the Tongue Tastes

Salty, sweet, sour, bitter and... umami. Science could have used a cooking lesson to discover one very important amino acid.

Message from the MGH

The spectacular productivity of epidemiological studies, by Peter L. Slavin and David F. Torchiana.

Second Opinion

Readers decry lack of foresight—with respect to loss of vision, eating disorders and the doctor shortage.

A New Light

Engineering students at Duke University created the BlueRay, which is being used experimentally on jaundiced babies in the developing world.

Can’t Sleep Tight

Sixty percent of pest-control customers were more upset to find out they had bedbugs rather than some other infestation.

technetium-99

The radioactive isotope, used in some 20 million medical scans each year, briefly found itself amid controversy.

A Miraculous Conception

Thirty years ago, the first test-tube baby made medical history.

Are public report cards that evaluate individual physicians a good thing?

Point: Yes, they are key in the nation’s efforts to develop a value-driven health care system. Counterpoint: No, because the wrong kind of measurements can do more harm than good.

The Outsourced Patient

Americans are saving untold thousands of dollars on major surgeries by traveling thousands of miles, even halfway around the world.

All Over the Map

As Elliott Fisher of the Dartmouth Atlas Project has discovered, more money does not always mean better health care.

A Beautiful Place

As a daughter discovers, her mother’s personality seems to drift, but she still can appreciate the important things: a wonderful sentence, the snow as it falls outside her bedroom window.