Why do some people have a high tolerance for pain, while others experience the slightest touch as painful? Nobody quite knows, but new findings by Meinhart Zenk and Toni Kutchan (pictured left to right) at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center offer some tantalizing possibilities; they've discovered that mice, and presumably we humans, have the metabolic equipment to manufacture morphine -- a finding that could eventually open doors to new ways of treating pain.

St. Louis is making great strides in its attack on childhood lead poisoning, according to statistics released Friday by the city's Health Department. The report said the level of lead poisoning in children reached an all-time low of 3.2 percent in 2009. That represents an 80 percent drop in the number of children with elevated lead levels since 2001. At that time, the rate was 16.2 percent. An emphasis on prevention was credited for the drop. (EPA photo)

House calls, in which doctors visit their patients at home,  are making a comeback. In general, the practice is more common among geriatricians whose patients are housebound because of multiple ailments. But house calls are also a feature of some concierge doctors' practices. The health-care law has a provision for pilot home-care programs to see whether such programs help save Medicare money.

Researchers have developed a more accurate way of diagnosing Alzheimer's disease early through analyzing spinal fluid. But with no cure is on the horizon, Alzheimer's expert Dr. John Morris understands why people might hesitate to get the test. Morris argues that early detection will allow researchers to make headway in treating, and possibly curing, the dreaded disease.

The Students and Teachers as Research Scientists program gets 60 area students into the top labs of academia and industry where they do original research during the summer. We followed four students throughout the program and found out how the experience may have changed their goals. All students started with a love of science and were enthusiastic about making it their life's work.