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Medicine Facts

Why Is Blood Pressure Two Numbers?

Blood pressure might better be called heart pressure, for the heart's pumping action creates it. To measure blood pressure, health workers determine how hard the blood is pushing at two different ... Continue reading

Blood pressure cuff measures systolic and diastolic pressure.

The Placebo Effect

To test new drugs, researchers usually divide their subjects into two groups. One group receives the experimental drug. The other receives a placebo or 'sugar pill' that should have no effect on the ... Continue reading

Which of these pills is the real thing?

Mad Cow Disease

In 1986, the first case of 'mad cow' disease or bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) was found in cattle in Great Britain. Irritable personalities, fearful behavior, and a staggering gait preceded ... Continue reading

Re-emerging Microbes

The reappearance of microbes that had been successfully conquered or controlled by medicines is distressing to the scientific and medical communities as well as to the public. A major cause of this ... Continue reading

Close up of Streptococcus.