2005 | 2004 | 2003

Bernadine Healy M.D., is a health editor for U.S.News & World Report and writes the On Health column for the magazine. A Harvard- and Hopkins-trained physician, Healy is a past Director of the National Institutes of Health, where she started the Women's Health Initiative. She is currently a member of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology and is a leader in patient care research and education.

2003 Columns

The heart and history: Prying opening its secrets
No other bodily organ has inspired poets and philosophers over the centuries the way the human heart has (12/1/03)

The future is now: Stem cells, plaque detectors, and superpowered 'good cholesterol' are changing the odds against a killer (12/1/03)

Dying of depression: Seemingly ordinary stresses of school or social life can trigger crushing emotional pain. (11/10/03)

Our healthcare guilt trip: Most people don't have a clue to what they're paying for and don't much care. (10/27/03)

Rx: fair price, fair play: Governors of Illinois, Iowa, and Minnesota are interested in helping city workers and retirees get their medicines directly from Canada. (10/6/03)

Power to the people! There is no need for ... a medical Boston Tea Party. (9/8/03)

Whose breasts, anyway? The choice of breast implants is deeply private, personal, and non-quantifiable. (8/11/03)

It's all about the cancer: Look closely and you see two key elements of successful patienthood when dark clouds loom. (7/28/03)

Our mothers' bones: Osteoporosis is a young person's problem, too. (7/14/03)

A daily brain plan to ward off Alzheimer's: Pumping the neurons (6/30/03)

Big Tobacco's triumph: Kids could wind up smoking more, not less. (6/23/03)

One cheer for Atkins: But seduction inevitably comes with a price tag. (6/2/03)

Tyranny of the 'or': A simmering part of our personal, private landscape. (5/19/03)

Time for a pause: Heart events weren't even on the radar screen. (4/21/03)

Flying fit and frequently: As time in the air lengthens, health risks rise. (3/24/03)

Let's remember Rosy: Rosalind Franklin aided Watson and Crick in their DNA discoveries without credit. (2/24/03)

A medical battalion: Medical professionals trained, protected, and ready are the only way we can succeed when biological weapons are pointed at civilians. (2/10/03)

No ordinary life: The physician's role in a future of personalized medicine. (1/20/03)