Federal health regulators are warning doctors to watch for a rare but deadly infection following the deaths of 2 women who were taking the abortion pill RU-486. The FDA has not confirmed the cause of the latest deaths, but the symptoms appear to match those seen in a cluster of cases in California where 4 women, who did not follow FDA-approved instructions for taking the drug, died of sepsis.

Researchers at the University of Dundee have identified a gene that may help protect the skin from developing eczema. The gene regulates production of the protein filaggrin, which helps the skin form a protective outer barrier to prevent the skin from drying out. Reduction or the absence of the protein leads to eczema; a skin condition that effects millions. Scientists hope the discovery will lead to more effective therapies to treat the root causes of the condition, rather than merely the symptoms.

After a government-appointed panel concluded that ADHD medications may increase the risk of sudden death and recommended a black box warning label, the public response of parents whose kids were prescribed the medications was one of panic. "By Monday morning, we were getting phone calls from parents who said things like 'I threw the medicine down the toilet, and now my kid is out of control,' " says Dr. Adelaide Robb, a child psychiatrist at Children's National Medical Center. "There was so much misinformation and fear"

Early exposure to pets, peanuts, and intestinal worms might actually be good for you, say some experts who now are trying to test remedies based on new theories on the immune system. "What we've learned is that it may, in fact, be important to be exposed early on to a sufficient quantity of allergy-causing substances to train the immune system that they are not a threat," says Andy Saxon of the University of California-Los Angeles. "And, in people who already have allergies, we see for the first time where the problems lie, and we have new opportunities to tweak the system."