The Year in Medicine 2008

In good times and bad, science doesn't sleep, and every year brings breakthroughs, setbacks, reasons for worry and reasons for joy. TIME's annual alphabetical roundup of a sampling of those stories gives you an overview of the year behind and a hint of what might be in the one ahead.

Knee Surgery: Study Doubts Benefits

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One more reason to think twice before you have arthroscopic knee surgery for osteoarthritis: a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine suggests that the procedure does no better at relieving symptoms than physical therapy or anti-inflammatory drugs. What's more, patients who do feel improvement after surgery may merely be experiencing a placebo effect. This finding echoes a 2002 government study showing that outcomes were similar whether a patient underwent real arthroscopic surgery or a sham procedure in which an incision was made but no actual work was done. That study prompted Medicare to drop coverage for the surgery as a treatment for osteoarthritis.

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  1. The '00s: Goodbye (at Last) to the Decade From Hell
  2. The Growing Backlash Against Overparenting
  3. Obama's 'Mistakes': Way Too Early to Judge
  4. The Gospel of Glee: Is It Anti-Christian?
  5. In His Cave, a Palestinian Farmer Makes a Stand
  6. When Thanksgiving Comes to Afghanistan
  7. Couple Crashes Obama's State Dinner
  8. One Year After the Mumbai Massacre, a Trial Plods On
  9. Ahmadinejad in Brazil: Why Lula Defies the U.S.
  10. California Judge Challenging Obama on Gay Rights
  1. The Growing Backlash Against Overparenting
  2. The '00s: Goodbye (at Last) to the Decade From Hell
  3. The Gospel of Glee: Is It Anti-Christian?
  4. Zhu Zhu Mania: Hamster Toys Are Ruling Christmas
  5. When Thanksgiving Comes to Afghanistan
  6. Obama's 'Mistakes': Way Too Early to Judge
  7. Five Things the U.S. Can Learn from China
  8. Ahmadinejad in Brazil: Why Lula Defies the U.S.
  9. In His Cave, a Palestinian Farmer Makes a Stand
  10. One Year After the Mumbai Massacre, a Trial Plods On
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