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On the eve of the British Columbia inquiry into the death of Robert Dziekanski, a review of scientific data finds that in some cases, stun guns may stimulate the heart in experimental models. This evidence is contrary to current views that stun guns only affect skeletal muscles.

Using an enzyme of the Japanese mushroom Grifola frondosa (Maitake or dancing mushroom), proteins can be identified without knowing the organism's genetic composition. This advance simplifies the study of proteins lying at the root of such diseases as cancer and diabetes.

Using a powerful supercomputer, researchers processed 140,000 prospective drug compounds to find one that dramatically lowers blood pressure, improves heart function, and prevents damage to the heart and kidneys in rats with persistent hypertension.

Despite the well-known dangers of high blood pressure, major shortfalls still exist in the screening, treatment and control of the disease even when patients are getting a doctor's care, according to a new study.

Researchers have identified a DNA sequence that controls the variability of blood glucose levels in people. This is a potentially significant discovery because high blood glucose levels in otherwise healthy people often are indications of heart disease and higher mortality rates.

Two new studies point to the negative impact of parental job loss on children's health care and the importance of having continuous health insurance coverage to meet children's health-care needs and reduce health-care disparities.

Ripping out and tearing down to create a divinely designed home, a la HGTV, is all the rage today -- and the economic downturn may be leading more families to renovate rather than relocate. But a new study by Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center has found that parents need to be aware that all this interior renovation can put their children's health at risk due to exposure to lead.

Nationwide, uninsured children in families earning between $38,000 and $77,000 annually are nearly as likely to forgo health care as uninsured children in poorer families. More than 40 percent of children in those income brackets who are uninsured all year see no physicians and have no prescriptions all year, says new research.

Australian researchers have unveiled a new immunotherapy technique to help prevent the progression from HIV infection to AIDS. Th simple cost-effective technique has been effective in primates.

Free radical pollution in the air could be a cause of asthma. Chemists have discovered that the atmospheric nitrate radical irreversibly damages amino acids, which are the building blocks for proteins in the human body. This, they suggest, could be a cause of some respiratory diseases.