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Not long ago, the only way to know if someone had Alzheimer’s disease was to examine the brain in an autopsy. That is changing — and fast — with brain scans and spinal taps that can detect beta amyloid, the telltale Alzheimer’s protein. There is a blood test on the horizon that can detect beta amyloid, and researchers are experimenting with scans to look for another protein, called tau, also characteristic of Alzheimer’s. (Kolata, 12/20)

She had been waiting more than a week for the black ice to melt and the farm roads to clear, but Marlene Kennedy, 84, was unwilling to wait any longer. She changed into snow boots, tucked her heart medication into her purse, and stepped out to the porch. She held onto a railing with one hand and to her daughter with the other, inching down the frozen walkway toward her garage, trying not to think about her husband’s slip and fall, which had shattered his hip and eventually forced him into a nursing home located more than an hour away. (Saslow, 12/21)

The company GEDmatch, the DNA database that facilitated an arrest in the Golden State Killer case and in dozens of other cases since, emerged from a desire to connect people to their relatives. For the past decade, the site’s co-founder Curtis Rogers has been running the company out of a small yellow house in Lake Worth, Fla. When Mr. Rogers first learned that the DNA of GEDmatch users had played a critical role in identifying a suspected serial killer, he was upset. (Murphy, 12/22)

For many Americans, hallucinogens still evoke the psychedelic '60s, bringing to mind the sex-and-drugs lifestyle of the hippie counterculture. But that stereotype lags behind reality, by several decades. Today, psychedelic experimentation is more likely to refer to dozens of clinical trials taking place at universities and research facilities. (O'Neill, 12/22)

The Department of Labor's workplace safety agency is getting ready to take new action to reduce workers' exposure to dangerous silica dust that can irreparably damage the lungs. But the agency's new program doesn't give special attention to the kitchen and bathroom countertop industry, which has recently seen cases of severe lung damage that have alarmed public health officials. (Greenfieldboyce, 12/21)

Would you put down that bag of chips if you saw it had 170 calories? What if the label said it would take 16 minutes of running to burn off those calories? Health experts for years have pushed for clearer food labeling to empower people to make better choices. In the U.S., a recent regulation requires calorie counts on packages to be bigger. Red, yellow and green labels signal the healthfulness of some foods in the United Kingdom. (12/20)

These cold, dark winter days make me want to curl up with a book, perhaps while munching on holiday cookies. One could describe my conduct this way: sedentary behavior combined with snacking on sugary treats. A regular practice of these things may well lead to weight gain. (Adams, 12/22)

In the background of a powerful photo of 15 black medical students from Tulane University is a slave cabin. In the foreground stand the students, wearing the white lab coats that tell observers they're members of a highly trained and prestigious profession. “We are our ancestors’ wildest dreams," tweeted Russell Joseph Ledet, who conceived of the photo. (12/20)

As more states legalize marijuana, more women are talking to their doctors about pot use during pregnancy — and obstetricians are grappling with the best way to have that conversation. ...Obstetricians say it’s critical that providers start asking women explicitly about marijuana use in pregnancy, because many women don’t consider marijuana a drug and won’t disclose using it when a provider asks broadly about drug use or smoking. (Thielking, 12/23)

Mayo Clinic researchers are poised this spring to test a remote cardiac procedure that could be a major breakthrough for rural hospital care — a procedure in which a patient’s clogged artery is propped open by robotic tools controlled by an off-site doctor. In the initial test, the Mayo doctor will only be in the next room, able to step in as needed. A successful test, however, would pave the way for a future in which doctors could perform the procedure from miles away. (Olson, 12/21)

Public spaces are packed with vivid color palettes, from the explosive shades of modern art to the covers of library books. But for people with colorblindness, the experience can be muted by an inability to take in the full spectrum of color. Now, museums and libraries are starting to take note — and stock special glasses designed to improve color vision. Institutions such as the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, the California Academy of Sciences and the St. Johns Public County Library System in St. Augustine, Fla., have partnered with a company that produces eyewear for people with colorblindness. (Blakemore, 12/21)

For as long as he can remember, Steven Knapp never felt well. “That was pretty much true from early childhood,” said Knapp, a self-described “Army brat” who was born in Germany and grew up in Turkey and a half-dozen states, including Georgia where he has lived since high school. (Boodman, 12/21)