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Although secondhand smoke is widely accepted as a risk factor for coronary heart disease, there have been few studies investigating the association of SHS and stroke risk. Researchers now report on evidence of increased risk of stroke for spouses of smokers.

Drug-resistant HIV at levels too low to be detected by standard tests is not unusual and may contribute to treatment failure, according to new research.

Long-suffering victims of allergies such as asthma and hay fever might enjoy a surprise benefit, according to research led by the University of New South Wales.

Though bacteria are everywhere -- from the air we breathe and the food we eat to our guts and skin -- the vast majority are innocuous or even beneficial, and only a handful pose any threat to us. What distinguishes a welcome microbial guest from an unwanted intruder?

Researchers have found that cerebral malaria is related to long-term cognitive impairment in one of four child survivors. The research is published in the journal Pediatrics.

Millions of people world-wide who have contracted a highly resistant strain of the HIV virus could benefit from a new drug to treat the infection.

A dividing cell tags more than 14,000 different sites on its proteins with phosphate, a molecule that typically serves as a signal for a variety of biological processes. This preponderance of signals -- more than twice the number identified by past studies -- suggests that the cell may become a control freak during the division process, regulating each of its parts, no matter how obscure. Understanding how cell division works is essential for understanding a host of diseases and conditions, from cancer to pediatric heart defects.

Women with low or high levels of the hormone thyrotropin, which affects thyroid gland function and thyroid hormone levels, appear to have a higher risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, according to a report in the July 28 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

A collaboration between chemists and biologists has made it possible to identify the effects of a new class of molecules, polyoxometalates, primarily composed of metals and oxygen. These molecules are very powerful inhibitors of a specific protein kinase, CK2, an enzyme that is overactive in a number of cancers. The enzyme's instrumental role in controlling cell proliferation and survival makes it an important target in the search for new medications.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, more commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a fatal neurodegenerative disease caused by the death of motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord that control muscle movements from walking and swallowing to breathing. Scientists now report key findings about the cause and occurrence of the familial form of ALS.