Peanuts and peppers, hamburgers and spinach, chicken and cheese, even cookie dough. Nearly every week, it seems, there's another scare about contaminated foods and the epidemics that result. What's gone wrong with America's food supply? And what can we do, as individuals and as a society, to be sure our food is safe and healthful?

Then and now Although food-borne illnesses are a major worry today, the problem is far from new. Just 100 years ago, in fact, large numbers of Americans were contracting tuberculosis from contaminated milk, typhoid fever and cholera from tainted water, and trichinosis from infected meat. ...

I'm 72 years old, with high blood pressure and high cholesterol. I take HydroDiuril, Lipitor, and aspirin. I feel fine, but I want to know if I can drink red wine while I'm taking these medications.

My 14-year-old granddaughter has just completed her third injection of the Gardasil vaccine. I know it is designed to protect her from cervical cancer caused by a virus. But men can get the virus, too. Should my grandson also get the vaccine?

Forget clothes. In a very real sense, testosterone makes the man.

It is responsible for the deep voice, increased muscle mass, and strong bones that characterize the gender. It stimulates the production of red blood cells by the bone marrow. The hormone also has crucial, if incompletely understood, effects on male behavior: it contributes to aggressiveness, and it is essential for the libido, or sex drive, as well as for normal erections and sexual performance. Testosterone stimulates the growth of the genitals at puberty and is responsible for sperm production throughout adult life.

Although testosterone acts directly on many tissues, ...