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A python embryo turns its leg cells into a pair of penises. Researchers now believe that signals from the embryonic gut trigger the development of the penis in many different species.

A python embryo turns its leg cells into a pair of penises. Researchers now believe that signals from the embryonic gut trigger the development of the penis in many different species. Patrick Tschopp/Harvard Medical School/Department of Genetics hide caption

itoggle caption Patrick Tschopp/Harvard Medical School/Department of Genetics

How Boy Bits First Came To Be

Certain birth defects in male children are on the rise, and nobody knows why. Scientists say basic research into how external genitalia evolved in reptiles and rodents might offer a few clues.

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Go Big Green! Dartmouth is testing the VGo robot to help diagnose concussions when neurologists aren't at the game.

Go Big Green! Dartmouth is testing the VGo robot to help diagnose concussions when neurologists aren't at the game. Mark Washburn/Courtesy of Dartmouth-Hitchcock hide caption

itoggle caption Mark Washburn/Courtesy of Dartmouth-Hitchcock

Your Health

Sideline Robot Helps Trainers Spot Football Concussions

by Alison Bruzek

It's common for some clinics in rural America to consult medical specialists by video for difficult cases. Dartmouth is testing a robot that connects trainers to a neurologist who is miles away.

In 49 U.S. states, spotting the squished disc in this spinal MRI is still much easier than learning the price of the MRI in advance.

In 49 U.S. states, spotting the squished disc in this spinal MRI is still much easier than learning the price of the MRI in advance. AWelshLad/iStockphoto hide caption

itoggle caption AWelshLad/iStockphoto

Health Inc.

How Much Is That MRI, Really? Massachusetts Shines A Light WBUR

by Martha Bebinger

A state law now requires insurers to reveal prices of their medical tests, and the variation is amazing, bargain hunters say. An MRI of the back is $614 at one place, $1,800 at another.

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The majority of voters in San Francisco and Berkeley, Calif., voted in favor of a soda tax, but the measure didn't gain the required two-thirds majority required in San Francisco.

The majority of voters in San Francisco and Berkeley, Calif., voted in favor of a soda tax, but the measure didn't gain the required two-thirds majority required in San Francisco. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images hide caption

itoggle caption Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Public Health

Berkeley Decides To Try Taxing Away Its Soda Habit KQED

by Lisa Aliferis

Many cities and states have tried, but Berkeley, Calif., is the first to pass a penny-per-ounce tax on sugar-sweetened beverages. The goal is to reduce sugar consumption to improve public health.

A healthy baby still tops women's wishes for their future children, but intelligence and athletic skill are gaining importance.

A healthy baby still tops women's wishes for their future children, but intelligence and athletic skill are gaining importance. Claire Fraser/ImageZoo/Corbis hide caption

itoggle caption Claire Fraser/ImageZoo/Corbis

Treatments

Women Increasingly Pick Brains Over Looks In Choosing Egg Donors

by Robin Marantz Henig

As using egg donors becomes more common, women are more likely to choose donors based on smarts and athletic skill rather than trying to have a child who will look like just them.

Debra Blackmon (left) was sterilized by court order in 1972, at age 14. With help from her niece, Latoya Adams (right), she's fighting to be included in the state's compensation program.

Debra Blackmon (left) was sterilized by court order in 1972, at age 14. With help from her niece, Latoya Adams (right), she's fighting to be included in the state's compensation program. Eric Mennel/WUNC hide caption

itoggle caption Eric Mennel/WUNC

Policy-ish

Payments Start For N.C. Eugenics Victims, But Many Won't Qualify WUNC-FM

by Eric Mennel

North Carolina forcibly sterilized thousands of people between 1929 and 1976. The state has begun compensating victims, but some who were sterilized may never receive restitution from the fund.

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Women participate in a breast cancer fund-raising in Denver in 2011. Despite decades of awareness campaigns, the survival rate for women with metastatic breast cancer hasn't improved.

Women participate in a breast cancer fund-raising in Denver in 2011. Despite decades of awareness campaigns, the survival rate for women with metastatic breast cancer hasn't improved. Helen H. Richardson/Denver Post/AP hide caption

itoggle caption Helen H. Richardson/Denver Post/AP

Your Health

Seeing Red During Breast Cancer Awareness Month

by Anne Loeser

Decades of effort to raise awareness of breast cancer hasn't helped to reduce the death toll once it spreads. One woman living with metastatic breast cancer says it's way past time for a change.

Examples of what the iPhone app looks for: The white reflection from an otherwise dark pupil can indicate a tumor, a cataract or other eye problems.

Examples of what the iPhone app looks for: The white reflection from an otherwise dark pupil can indicate a tumor, a cataract or other eye problems. Claire Eggers/NPR hide caption

itoggle caption Claire Eggers/NPR

Your Health

Look Here: Phone App Checks Photos For Eye Disease

Bryan Shaw showed it was possible to detect early signs of eye cancer from a family photo album. Now, he and his research team have made an iPhone app.

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Stringy particles of Ebola virus (blue) bud from a chronically infected cell (yellow-green) in this colorized, scanning electron micrograph.

Stringy particles of Ebola virus (blue) bud from a chronically infected cell (yellow-green) in this colorized, scanning electron micrograph. NIAID/Science Source hide caption

itoggle caption NIAID/Science Source

Virus Sleuths Chip Away At Ebola Mysteries

Big questions have bedeviled virus hunters for 38 years: Why do people differ in their response to Ebola? Is it becoming more or less dangerous? There's now more evidence about who gets sick and why.

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Don't look for leading Ebola researchers at the Sheraton New Orleans. Louisiana health officials told doctors and scientists who have been in West Africa not to come to a medical meeting in town.

Don't look for leading Ebola researchers at the Sheraton New Orleans. Louisiana health officials told doctors and scientists who have been in West Africa not to come to a medical meeting in town. Prayitno/Flickr hide caption

itoggle caption Prayitno/Flickr

Treatments

Ebola Researchers Banned From Medical Meeting In New Orleans

One of the top scientific conferences on tropical diseases will take place without the people who have the most recent and direct experience with Ebola in West Africa.

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