By Deborah Kotz, Globe Staff

We’ve been hearing a lot about the terrifying case of Aimee Copeland -- a 24-year-old graduate student from Georgia who contracted flesh-eating bacteria several days ago and remains in critical condition after having her leg amputated. While the infection is very rare, the case underscores the importance of properly treating wounds to keep germs at bay.

By Deborah Kotz, Globe Staff

A new method of performing virtual colonoscopy using a CT scan -- which doesn’t involve the dreaded laxative preparation to clear the colon the night before -- may be about as effective as a standard colonoscopy at identifying the large polyps most likely to become cancerous, according to new research. If the finding is confirmed, the technique could eventually serve as a first-line screening tool for colon cancer, especially for the many people who avoid screening altogether.

By Deborah Kotz, Globe Staff

Obesity, once seen as a failure of personal responsibility and lack of willpower, has been repackaged in a four-part HBO documentary airing tonight through Thursday as a complicated phenomenon that’s largely resulting from societal pressures that make it far easier for us to commute by car rather than by bike and to eat McDonald’s rather than steamed vegetables with tofu.

By Deborah Kotz, Globe Staff

I’m challenging myself this week to work on achieving more self-respect. That’s separate from self-esteem or self-confidence. Self-respect is about gaining peace of mind from knowing who you are and liking yourself, warts and all. How will you cultivate self-respect this week?

By Deborah Kotz, Globe Staff

I reported previously on the increased risk of blood clots in certain forms of birth control pills -- such as Yasmin and Beyaz -- that contain the progesterone drospirenone. But it turns out non-oral hormonal contraceptives may pose even higher risks. A study published Thursday indicates that the skin patch and vaginal ring are the most likely to cause dangerous blood clots and that some women may benefit from switching to the pill or non-hormonal contraception.

By Deborah Kotz, Globe Staff

For the second time in less than three months, an expert panel convened by the US Food and Drug Administration voted to recommend approval of a prescription weight loss drug that had previously been rejected because of safety concerns: Lorcaserin (Lorqess) was approved Thursday by an 18 to 4 vote with 1 abstention for its ability to help overweight people shed pounds with few apparent side effects.

By Deborah Kotz, Globe Staff

After writing my weekly challenge on protecting yourself against Lyme Disease, I received a poignant and important essay from a reader who has been suffering from a case of Lyme Disease that was originally misdiagnosed and not treated for years after her original tick bite. What her experience can teach the rest of us.

By Deborah Kotz, Globe Staff

Time magazine’s controversial cover photo showing a mother breastfeeding her 3-year-old son raises the question: Is there such a thing as too much parental attachment when a child is young? On the 20th anniversary of Dr. Bill Sears’ best-selling book on attachment parenting, little is known about the long term effects of co-sleeping, baby wearing, and breast-feeding as long as possible.

By Deborah Kotz, Globe Staff

The rise of reusable grocery bags has raised concerns about the possibility of lurking germs from raw foods that then contaminate other items on the next shopping trip. While researchers have yet to document food-borne illnesses spread in this way, they have demonstrated that norovirus can spread from a contaminated reusable shopping bag in a study published Wednesday in the Journal of Infectious Diseases. What precautions should you take if you tote bags to the supermarket?

By Deborah Kotz, Globe Staff

Want to feel like you’re in the operating room during brain surgery? You can log on to a live twitter feed of a brain surgery being performed at Houston’s Memorial Hermann hospital. The surgeon performing the operation is none other than Dr. Dong Kim, a neurosurgeon who helped treat former congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords after she suffered a gunshot wound to the head.

By Deborah Kotz, Globe Staff

In order to reverse the American obesity epidemic that has left 1 out of 3 children and 2 out of 3 adults overweight, the nation needs to pool its resources to implement a number of key steps, according to 462-page report issued Tuesday by the influential Institute of Medicine.

While the report has earnest goals, the suggested measures -- exercise more, eat healthier, get schools involved in obesity prevention -- have been underscored and proclaimed by others time and time again.

By Deborah Kotz, Globe Staff

Another over-the-counter weight-loss supplement has come under the scrutiny of the US Food and Drug Administration, with some experts, including a Harvard Medical School researcher, calling for an all-out ban on the compound called DMAA. What are the risks of this supplement -- that some refer to as the new ephedra -- used for weight loss and muscle-boosting?

By Carolyn Y. Johnson, Globe Staff

A pair of Harvard researchers have begun to pry open one of the most basic questions about everyday existence: why do we talk about ourselves so much? We spend more than a third of our conversations disclosing our views, our feelings, our experiences, to others. The psychologists found that disclosing facts about oneself seems to trigger brain circuits that respond to rewards -- such as food and money.

By Deborah Kotz, Globe Staff

No question, finding the right nursing home for a loved one -- especially someone with Alzheimer’s disease -- can be the most heart-rending and perhaps toughest decision that many of us will ever have to make. Here are six key questions to ask before selecting a facility.

By Deborah Kotz, Globe Staff

Lyme disease cases could reach record numbers this year due to unseasonably warm temperatures this winter and spring, which is causing the deer ticks that carry the disease to breed sooner. What to do to protect yourself and how to recognize the symptoms.

By Deborah Kotz, Globe Staff

Some studies I just want to believe -- like the one claiming that chocolate helps you lose weight. Being an avid jogger, I smiled broadly when I read about a new study making headlines that found my running habit will add 5.6 years to my life. If I were a man, my life expectancy would increase by 6.2 years. Sounded good to me, until I looked a little further at the study details.

By Deborah Kotz, Globe Staff

The apparent suicide Wednesday of former Patriots linebacker Junior Seau has raised an important concern for parents with children involved in contact sports: Did repeat concussions through years of getting tackled lead to the depression that may have ultimately caused him to take his own life? While it’s easy to connect the dots, experts say more research is needed to determine the extent to which concussions lead to permanent brain injuries that then cause mental disorders down the road.

By Deborah Kotz, Globe Staff

The DASH diet first gained a name for itself 15 years ago as a successful eating approach that would lower blood pressure, more than just reducing salt intake. And it’s been named the best diet by US News and World Report. Now a new book by DASH diet inventor Dr. Thomas Moore, at Boston University medical school, makes it easy to use the diet for weight loss.

By Deborah Kotz, Globe Staff

Despite all the dollars we spend on health care, American babies are getting short shrift when it comes to good health outcomes. The premature birth rate in the United States is abysmal; our country ranks 131st -- with a preterm birth rate of 12 per 100 live births -- which puts us near Somalia, Thailand, and Turkey, according to a report released Wednesday by the March of Dimes and the World Health Organization.

By Deborah Kotz, Globe Staff

It’s the unofficial start of the playground season and all the pediatric injuries that result from tumbles off trampolines and smashes on slides. Dr. Benjamin Shore lists the most common injuries he sees as a pediatric orthopedic surgeon at Children’s Hospital Boston and what parents are doing to cause them.