It is estimated that more than 6.2 million of the world?s poor are dying of cancer, AIDS, burns and wounds without adequate pain relief, so why not harness the poppy harvest for much-needed morphine?

  A woman spends nearly four decades assuming her unquenchable thirst is nothing more than a little quirk.

  The state, which had been working to expand health coverage, is forced by new federal rules to do the opposite.

  Rules requiring officials to recoup costs if an indigent patient had a change in financial circumstances are being criticized as punitive measures limiting the rights of some people to sue.

  Republicans in New York and New Jersey are feeling intense pressure to vote to override President Bush?s veto of a bill expanding a popular health insurance program for children.

  When confronting confusing health insurance statements and a maze of policies, talking to a live person can be the best remedy.

  The voluntary withdrawal, already under way, affects only products labeled for use in infants, not for use in children 2 and older.

  A comprehensive global study of abortion suggests that outlawing the procedure does little to deter women seeking it.

  Two years after Minnesota officials forbade drug makers to give doctors more than $50 worth of food or other gifts per year, drug company sales representatives there are having a far harder time marketing to doctors.

  With dentists?fees rising and millions lacking dental insurance, more people are leaving cavities untreated.

  Why some athletes who don't look like winners are.

  Longer summers and warming weather trends mean that runners in late-autumn marathons should start planning to beat the heat, not just the clock.

  Senator John McCain will propose overhauling the nation?s health care system by offering incentives for both patients and doctors.

  If the F.D.A. follows the advisory panel?s recommendation, Medtronic may be able to enter the lucrative American market for drug-coated stents by the end of this year.