In recent years pasta gained a bad reputation: it will fatten you. This led lots of people to limit its consumption, often as part of some aggressive "do it yourself" diets. Now a study conducted by the Department of Epidemiology, I.R.C.C.S. Neuromed in Pozzilli, Italy, does justice to this fundamental element of the Mediterranean diet, showing how pasta consumption is actually associated with a reduced likelihood of both general and abdominal obesity.

A new study has found that reducing antibiotic prescribing for respiratory tract infections - such as coughs, colds, sore throats and ear infections - is not linked to an increase in the most serious bacterial complications, such as bacterial meningitis. The study, published in the BMJ, investigated whether reducing antibiotic prescribing for people attending their GP with respiratory tract infections could have an effect on safety.

A quiet transformation has been brewing in medicine, as large-scale DNA results become increasingly available to patients and healthcare providers. Amid a cascade of data, physicians, counselors and families are sorting out how to better understand and use this information in making health care decisions.

Older men with low libido and low testosterone levels showed more interest in sex and engaged in more sexual activity when they underwent testosterone therapy, according to a new study published in the Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

Zika virus infection confers protection against future infection in monkeys, but lingers in the body of pregnant animals for prolonged periods of time, according to research funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The findings appear in the June 28 issue of Nature Communications.

A new drug with the potential to reverse or slow the development of asthma is being tested by researchers at The University of Queensland. Developed by international pharmaceutical company Pfizer Inc., the drug is being trialled by UQ's School of Biomedical Sciences. Research team leader Associate Professor Simon Phipps said the drug targeted a protein called IL-33.

The use of medical marijuana for millions of patients suffering from a wide range of health conditions and the subsequent therapeutic benefits has long been documented. Twenty-three states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Guam, have determined that Cannabis sativa (a.k.a. marijuana) can benefit patients suffering from a wide range of conditions, including cancer, epilepsy, chronic pain, and post-traumatic stress disorder.