For Your Health

By Maryanne Murray Buechner; Lev Grossman; Anita Hamilton

LOOK, MA--NO NEEDLES!

Hate shots? FluMist, a new alternative vaccine for the influenza viruses that send millions of Americans back to bed every winter, is administered as a nasal spray. Approved by the FDA in June for healthy people ages 5 through 49, it triggers a buildup of antibodies in the upper respiratory tract--flu's favorite point of entry. The catch: FluMist costs three to four times as much as the shot, and most health-insurance companies won't cover it. INVENTORS Hunein Maassab and MedImmune Vaccines AVAILABILITY Now, about $50 a dose TO LEARN MORE flumist.com

A SMARTER WAY TO SKIP IT

For years, women on birth control who didn't want to worry about menstruating while on vacation or while participating in sports have been skipping their period by starting their next 28-day supply of pills one week early. But women can regularly skip three periods in a row with Seasonale, a 91-day pill pack with 84 active tablets followed by seven inactive pills. More than 40 years since the original Pill went on sale, we'd say it's about time. INVENTOR Barr Laboratories AVAILABILITY Now, $1 per pill (or less with insurance) TO LEARN MORE www.barrlabs.com

THE NEW LOVE DRUG

Viagra's famous little blue pill is getting some serious competition in Europe from a newcomer called Cialis. Nicknamed "Le Weekender" in France, Cialis helps men with erectile dysfunction have sex up to 36 hours after swallowing it. Viagra, on the other hand, lasts only about four hours. Other advantages: men can take Cialis even on a full stomach, then start getting that loving feeling in just half an hour--vs. up to an hour with Viagra. INVENTOR Lilly ICOS LLC AVAILABILITY Pending FDA approval in the U.S. TO LEARN MORE lilly.co.uk

HUMAN GENOME ON A CHIP

Every cell in your body contains a copy of your entire genetic makeup--some 50,000 known genes and gene variants. But to make that information useful to scientists who are trying to identify genetic markers for cancer and develop drugs that target specific genes, a tool was needed to isolate each gene and make it easily identifiable. The new GeneChip from Affymetrix does just that. While previous chips each contained a portion of the human genome, the GeneChip is the first to fit the whole thing on one. INVENTOR Affymetrix AVAILABILITY Now, $300 to $500 TO LEARN MORE affymetrix.com