diabetes

Developments in genetics are now making it possible to invite custom-engineered symbiotic creatures into our bodies to help perform the functions we can't. In two separate developments, scientists have created a strain of bacteria that stimulates insulin production in the stomach of diabetic mice, and a different strain that produces a protein that treats the stomach disease colitis. This is the first time genetically engineered bacteria have been used directly as therapeutic agents.

It takes researchers years, sometimes decades, to pin down subtle, important findings about your health, but it takes bumbling journalists (or their editors) just a few seconds to screw it all up. Here, a selection of the most misleading headlines, and a few tips to help you spot the hype early.

While some scientists are looking to the future, trying to push the human body beyond its natural limits, others are fighting the same old scourges we’ve always faced. Here, an update on five particularly stubborn ailments and promising research avenues that might finally lead to cures.

CANCER
What goes wrong When DNA is dam-

In January, the