Many medical conditions, such as chronic pain, cancer and diabetes, require medications that cannot be taken orally, but must be dosed intermittently, on an as-needed basis, over a long period of time. A few delivery techniques have been developed, using an implanted heat source, an implanted electronic chip or other stimuli as an "on-off" switch to release the drugs into the body.

On Thursday, Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis said that one of its swine flu vaccines may work with just one dose. Previously, experts and the company had thought that two flu shots would be needed.

Shake and Bake. It's not just for chicken anymore. The once famous bread crumb coating for chicken and pork is now being used to describe the faster and easier way to make methamphetamine. Shake and bake meth is all the rage, allowing meth users and makers to produce the drug on the run and in smaller doses thereby bypassing the laws intended to stop the production of this deadly drug.

The mystery, if it was in fact one, of Michael Jackson's death appears over. According to a search warrant affidavit unsealed today in Houston, L.A. County coroner's officials found lethal levels of the powerful anesthetic propofol in Michael Jackson's body.

The temptation is strong, for those who have the kind of money that pro sports figures have, to party, party, party, and that includes the temptation to use drugs. On Monday it was reported that Miami Heat forward Michael Beasley has checked into rehab.

This certainly casts some doubt on the veracity of this witness, although it does nothing to erase to multiple positive drug test results. The stepmother of Jeremy Mayfield and a witness for NASCAR in defending its suspension of the Sprint Cup driver, was arrested Saturday night after an incident at his Catawba County house. That's Lisa Mayfield's none-too-pretty mugshot attached to this post.

Scientists in Louisiana are reporting development of a process for producing large batches of a new and potentially safer form of acetaminophen, the widely used pain-reliever now the source of growing concern over its potentially toxic effects on the liver.

Researchers have invented computational tools to decode and rapidly determine whether natural compounds collected in oceans and forests are new—or if these pharmaceutically promising compounds have already been described and are therefore not patentable.

Wake Forest University scientists have developed a new research tool in the pursuit of heart medications based on the compound nitroxyl by identifying unique chemical markers for its presence in biological systems.

A mineral found at health food stores could be the key to developing a new line of antibiotics for bacteria that commonly cause diarrhea, tooth decay and, in some severe cases, death.

Franck's Pharmacy in Ocala, Fla., admitted on Thursday that it was responsible for the deaths of 21 Venezuelan polo ponies by incorrectly preparing medication for the animals.

A new study from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health shows a positive link between the amount of the hypnotic (sleeping medicine) zopiclone in the blood and the chance of being assessed as impaired in a clinical examination. The study also included drivers who only showed alcohol in their blood test.