Microbes are microscopic living organisms, such as bacteria and fungi. Although often categorized as microbes, viruses are very different. In fact, since viruses are unable to grow or reproduce unless they enter a living cell, viruses are sometimes not considered to be living creatures at all. In order to compare and contrast viral and bacterial…...

Last article, we looked at how bacteria and viruses differed. Some of these differences, such as viruses being unable to cause harm unless they invade a living host, have a bearing on the nature of the infections that they cause, as well as the way that the infections that they cause are treated. In some…...

The left-hand column below lists the 10 most commonly prescribed medications in the U.S. in the order of the frequency that they are prescribed. In the right column are the most common side effects of these medications in no particular order.  See if you can match the medication with its most common side effects.  In…...

Perform a google search on "the most important medical breakthroughs" and you are likely to find items such as "Man Walks Again after Being Chopped in Half" or "Teen lived 118 days without Heart".  But in terms of having an effect on decreasing the burden of disease and increasing longevity, there are three much less…...

A single blistering sunburn in childhood or adolescence doubles a person's chances of developing melanoma skin cancer later in life.  Other types of skin cancer, basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma, are directly related to long-term sun exposure.  Children often spend a good part of their day playing outdoors in the sun, especially during…...

Recently, several reports of infections caused by "flesh eating bacteria" have appeared in the news.  Such infections have been responsible for amputations as well as death.  In one instance, the infection appears to have developed after a serious cut was exposed to contaminated water.  Just how common is this disease and do we need to…...

Some old wives' tales, such as arthritis resulting from cracking knuckles, have not held up to scientific scrutiny.  Others have stood the test of time, such as the idea that drinking cranberry juice can help fight urinary tract infections.  The concept of fish being good for the health of the brain has also gained credibility…...

Heart murmurs are sounds made by blood moving through the valves that control the flow of blood between the chambers of the heart or to the major blood vessels leaving the heart.  They are usually described as a "whooshing" sound, occurring at a certain point during the "lub-dub" cycle of each heartbeat.  Click here to…...