The appeal of owning your own property — and all the private goods that came with it — may have convinced nomadic humans to settle down and take up farming. So says a new study that tried to puzzle out why early farmers bothered with agriculture.

Hospitals hoping to attract patients and build goodwill are teaming up with medical-screening companies to promote tests they say might prevent deadly strokes or heart disease. What their promotions don’t say is that an influential government panel recommends against many of the tests for people without symptoms or risk factors.

Researchers uncover how people deal with digital possessions and Facebook friends after a relationship ends

The US Preventive Services Task Force updates its advice on HIV testing in the wake of AIDS research showing the benefits of early detection and treatment    

First such operation in the United States

Doctors argue that some drug companies are charging too much for their cancer drugs, to the detriment of patients.A group of more than 100 cancer experts have called out drug companies for the high prices of cancer drugs. The doctors, all specialists in chronic myelogenous leukemia or CML,  published their opinion on what they call “astronomical” prices on Friday in the scientific journal Blood.

Painful finger-prick blood tests for diabetics could become a thing of the past, say physicists who have built a sensor that measures glucose in saliva

Psychologists have long known that children often model their behavior on the actions of parents or peers. But science has only recently begun to measure the influence of siblings. An older brother's or sister's behavior can be very contagious, it turns out — for good and for bad.

Figure for greater Swansea area rises by 56 as experts warn epidemic shows no sign of easingMeasles cases in south Wales have jumped by 56 in two days as experts warn the outbreak shows no sign of ending.

At a briefing in Beijing Wednesday, World Health Organization officials called the H7N9 bird flu that's emerged in China one of the "most lethal" flu viruses so far. NPR science correspondent Richard Knox talks about what we know, and the questions that remain about the deadly strain.

When Superstorm Sandy flooded lower Manhattan last year, thousands of lab animals drowned and many scientists lost months or even years of work. The specialty animals can be very difficult to replace, but researchers say the loss of animal life is emotionally devastating and difficult to get over.

When abiding fear takes over some kids' lives, they respond with anger and aggression that's not premeditated. One psychiatrist says he's finding profound relief for a particular subgroup of these children in experimental research with the anesthesia drug ketamine.

The latest polls indicate 58 percent of Americans support same-sex marriage. In 1977, that number was 13 percent. One researcher says that jump in support isn't the result of a generational gap — it's that many who once opposed gay marriage have changed their minds or softened their opposition.

A livestock virus sweeping through British sheep flocks and cattle herds has been passed to wild deer, say scientists.

Hiking the price of fizzy drinks would cut consumption and so help fight obesity, urges the British Academy of Medical Royal Colleges