Nancy Shute

Women can give birth in water at a growing number of hospitals, but the nation's pediatricians and obstetricians say there's not enough proof that it's safe. Midwives say it's fine for many women.

Evidence has long suggested that exercise may help prevent breast cancer. After looking at cancer risk in 4 million women, French researchers concluded any type of exercise is beneficial.

Despite evidence to the contrary, many Americans believe cellphones cause cancer and that health officials are covering it up. Discredited theories about vaccines and fluoridation also remain popular.

In 2010, 15 percent of people who went to the doctor for a headache got a brain scan, even though the vast majority of headaches aren't symptoms of something seriously wrong.

Screening for colon cancer actually prevents the disease, but one-third of people over 50 have never been screened. A new campaign hopes to get 80 percent of eligible people screened by 2018.

Teenage boys are still the primary users of stimulant medications to treat ADHD, but increased use by adults, particularly young women, has fueled a 36 percent rise in prescriptions in five years.

An analysis of research on the cholesterol-lowering drugs shows that most side effects are no more common with them than with placebo drugs. But statins can raise the risk of diabetes.

Wouldn't it be great to be able to scan your genes and find out your disease risk? Those scanners exist. But a test of their usefulness for medical care found them not as accurate as one would hope.

Virtual reality can make people feel like they are experiencing the world outside of their bodies. The sensation can make it hard for the people to remember what happened to them.

Researchers say a small number of people appear to lack the brain circuitry to get pleasure from music.

The Food and Drug Administration is still figuring out what to do about electronic cigarettes. But to reduce the odds kids will get hooked on nicotine, some cities are moving to restrict them.

Division I athletes may be at the top of their game in college, but by their 40s they often have more health problems than people who never played sports, researchers say.