By Deborah Kotz, Globe Staff

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his medical school girlfriend wondered whether the social media site could be used to help eliminate the shortage of organs for patients in need of transplants. Facebook users can now update their timelines to announce that they’ve registered as organ donors, a move that Zuckerberg said could increase awareness and bring more potential donors into the pool.

By Deborah Kotz, Globe Staff

What would you do if you had a healthy smiling baby one day and then received devastating news that the baby had a rare genetic disorder and would only live another 18 months at most? One Texas couple, confronted with their 6-month-old’s recent diagnosis of the fatal Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) Type One, decided to create a blog -- written in their daughter’s voice -- with a bucket list of things she hopes to do before she dies.

By Deborah Kotz, Globe Staff

Researchers from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center observed more than 3,000 bicyclists in Boston and Washington, DC, including 562 who were riding shared bicycles; they found that bike-share users were more than twice as likely to be pedaling without helmets, which puts them at far greater risk of suffering a head injury during an accident.

By Deborah Kotz, Globe Staff

Getting a serving or two of berries each week can help protect against age-related memory loss. Berries also have other nutritional benefits, thanks to their high level of antioxidants and other plant chemicals that protect against cancer and heart disease. Are you eating enough?

By Deborah Kotz, Globe Staff

There’s been a rash of bizarre health headlines in the news today, including, yes, a rash that caused an airline flight to be quarantined for fear of a serious illness -- monkey pox. Here’s a rundown of wacky news some health reporters are forced to cover. (Thanks to my editor for allowing me to merely aggregate these stories.)

By Deborah Kotz, Globe Staff

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention finally identified the source of a Salmonella outbreak that sickened 200 people nationwide, including 24 in Massachusetts. The recalled frozen raw yellowfin tuna product is Nakaochi Scrape shipped from the Moon Marine USA Corporation.

By Deborah Kotz, Globe Staff

The American Cancer Society, for the first time Thursday, issued formal lifestyle recommendations aimed at those diagnosed with cancer, saying there was finally enough evidence from research studies to determine finite steps patients can take to lower their risk of recurrence. “The science has gotten stronger,” said Dr. Otis Brawley, chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society, to provide specific advice for diet, exercise, and weight loss.

By Deborah Kotz, Globe Staff

While many potential drugs to treat autism are being tested in experimental settings, a new one appears fairly promising -- at least in mice. Researchers from the National Institutes of Mental Health and Pfizer reported Wednesday that an experimental compound, called GRN-529, increased social interactions and lessened repetitive self-grooming behavior in a strain of mice bred to display autism-like behaviors.

By Deborah Kotz, Globe Staff

Most people who suffer regularly from debilitating migraine headaches don’t get the appropriate treatment to prevent them, according to guidelines issued earlier this week from the American Academy of Neurology. And a disappointing study published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that injections of Botulinum toxin A, or Botox, had smaller-than-expected benefits for those with chronic, near-daily headaches, working only modestly better than a placebo.

By Deborah Kotz, Globe Staff

A kidney donor has been making headlines this week after filing a complaint with the New York State Human Rights Commission against her former employer; the donor, Debbie Stevens, claims she was fired soon after donating a kidney to a network that allowed her boss to move to the top of the waiting list.

By Deborah Kotz, Globe Staff

Despite four-year-old guidelines recommending against the use of PSA screening in men over age 75, doctors are still continuing to screen older men at the same rate as they were before the guidelines were issued, according to a research paper published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

By Deborah Kotz, Globe Staff

The New Yorker asked readers to come up with words that they wish could be eliminated from the English language. I came up with a few words of my own that I think health reporters should stop using. Do you have any to suggest?

By Deborah Kotz, Globe Staff

Bedwetting -- which becomes a medical condition called nocturnal enuresis after kids reach the age of five -- is far more common that you might think. About 6 percent of boys and 3 percent of girls ages 8 to 11 experience it at least two nights a week, and boys have more severe bedwetting than girls. The best treatment? Not drugs, but setting an alarm clock.

By Deborah Kotz, Globe Staff

E! News host Giuliana Rancic announced Monday that she and her husband Bill are expecting a baby later this summer born to a surrogate mother -- using embryos frozen before her treatment for breast cancer. Her story highlights the importance of preserving fertility before cancer treatments and how few women get the appropriate counseling beforehand.

By Deborah Kotz, Globe Staff

Can you really become addicted to your iPad, Blackberry, or Facebook account? Some experts claim, yes, or at the very least lead us to develop what one psychiatrist calls “attention deficit trait,” defined by the need to constantly scan the electronic etherworld for new and interesting bits of information. Three steps that can help you stay wired without feeling addicted.

By Deborah Kotz, Globe Staff

Shrugging off of regrets, it turns out, may be a valuable part of aging that helps keep us healthy and in a state of well-being as we hit our senior years, according to a new study published online Thursday in the journal Science.

By Deborah Kotz, Globe Staff

Last month, Starbucks created a tempest in a coffee cup when the company revealed that many of its strawberry flavored products -- including its Strawberries & Crème Frappuccino -- contained cochineal extract, a red dye made from crushed beetles. On Thursday, the company announced it is switching to a tomato-based dye.

By Deborah Kotz, Globe Staff

I’m constantly amazed at the stupid stuff people will try to lose weight, feel better, or get some momentary visceral pleasure, but recent trends including feeding tubes for weight loss, bacon sundaes, and a huggable vending machine that spits out free Cokes are taking things to a new level of stupidity.

By Deborah Kotz, Globe Staff

Representative Edward Markey (D-MA) was unable to get provisions to tighten the regulation of medical devices into a bill to renew the FDA's user fee program. Congress is set to vote on the bill by early summer, but its draft leaves the medical device approval program with an unclosed loophole that allows new devices with faulty designs to go on the market.

By Deborah Kotz, Globe Staff

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett announced on Tuesday that he had early stage prostate cancer and would soon begin radiation treatment, but top Massachusetts prostate cancer experts debate whether he really needs to be treated for a disease that's common and rarely life threatening in 81-year-old men like him.