Ayurvedic medicines sold over the Internet in the United States contain harmful levels of toxic metals such as lead, a new study has found. A team of researchers from Boston University used five different Internet search engines to locate 25 sites selling Ayurvedic medicines.

The researchers randomly chose 230 sites to order the medicines in 2005 and sent their purchases to the New England Regional Environmental Protection Agency for testing. The agency measured metal concentrations using x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy and found that 20.7 percent of the products contained lead, mercury, and/or arsenic

Bacteria and fungi infection in amniotic fluid may cause a significant number of premature births in infants, new study has found.

Using new technology, Stanford researchers in California reported on Monday that they looked at fluid samples from 166 women in preterm labor; 113 of the women went on to deliver premature babies. The women were patients at Hutzel Women's Hospital in Detroit between October 1998 and December 2002

A 72-year-old woman has become the first person to die this year of the West Nile virus in California, the California State Department of Public Health announced on Monday.

The woman from Orange County died from complications associated with the fatal flu-like illness spread by mosquitoes. Her death came after health officials warned that the risk of contracting West Nile virus from mosquito bites is the highest in four years

A new test that promises to diagnose osteoarthritis in its early stages, when treatments are most helpful, could soon be available in the U.S., researchers say.

The new method uses a modified form of MRI imaging to determine the concentration of a polymer known as glycosaminogycan (GAG), a recognized marker for osteoarthritis. GAG gives cartilage (the material that cushions skeletal joints) its toughness and elasticity. Loss of this material triggers the onset of osteoarthritis

Scientists have recovered antibodies to the virus that caused the devastating 1918 pandemic flu from the bodies of survivors and say it could be useful if another virus similar to that flu breaks out.

Researchers at Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt University recovered the antibodies from elderly survivors of the pandemic flu