health – News Stories About health - Page 29

Aug 7, 2007 10:09 AM CDT

Why Fat is Phat

The body's most maligned cells are actually critically valuable players

(Newser) - Fat is underappreciated, New York Times health columnist Natalie Angier writes: just because a lot of people now have too much of it doesn't mean it should be villified. The fat cell is in fact a marvel of science, a sophisticated mechanism finely tailored not only for energy storage but...

Foot-and-Mouth Turns Up at Second Farm

Aug 7, 2007 4:46 AM CDT

Foot-and-Mouth Turns Up at Second Farm

New suspicions that virus may have spread in floodwaters

(Newser) - England is culling a second herd of cattle feared to have foot-and-mouth disease. The animals were showing symptoms on an unidentified farm within a restricted zone around the area southwest of London where the first outbreak occurred. Investigators were considering the possibility that a flood in July may have spread...

EU Bans UK Animal Exports

Aug 6, 2007 12:52 PM CDT

EU Bans UK Animal Exports

Probe of possible source widens to include summer flooding

(Newser) - The EU imposed an indefinite ban today on exports of live animals from Great Britain after an outbreak of foot and mouth disease on a farm in southeast England. The floods that have swamped the English countryside may have played a role in the outbreak, the Guardian reports, and PM...

Babies Off Breast Milk
Too Soon

Aug 4, 2007 6:50 AM CDT

Babies Off Breast Milk Too Soon

Three-quarters of new moms breast feed, but only 11% long enough

(Newser) - Almost three quarters of new mothers in the US breast feed their babies, but they are switching to formula too soon, say federal health officials. Only 30% are sticking to breast milk alone at three months, and only 11% at six months, a new survey shows. Breast milk protects infants...

Maybe Your Ailments Are All in Your Web

Aug 3, 2007 7:50 AM CDT

Maybe Your Ailments Are All in Your Web

'Cyberchondriacs' surf around to round out docs' advice

(Newser) - More and more people are turning to websites to complement doctor visits, Ars Technica reports. About three-quarters of adults seek out medical info online, a fraction that's held for nearly a decade even as the number of wired adults has soared. That translates to 160 million of what Harris Interactive...

Bad Plastic:
It's Practically Everywhere

Aug 2, 2007 1:59 PM CDT

Bad Plastic: It's Practically Everywhere

And it's linked to infertility, obesity, cancer—you name it

(Newser) - It's in everything from baby bottles to coffee makers to CDs, and research is accumulating, as Salon's Elizabeth Grossman puts it, that it's a major health hazard. Bisphenol A is a key ingredient of the lightweight plastics now ubiquitous in consumer products, and it's been variously linked to reproductive health,...

5 Common Dieting Myths

Aug 2, 2007 11:55 AM CDT

5 Common Dieting Myths

The truth may not set you free—but it might make your pants looser

(Newser) - Nutritionist Joy Bauer, the "Today" show's diet editor, looks at some popular dieting myths—or are they?

Diet and exercise can transform fat into muscle: The one can't become the other.
Metabolism slows with age, and there's nothing you can do about it: Exercise can maintain your burn.

Electric Stimulation Revives Man
in Near-Coma

Aug 1, 2007 8:35 PM CDT

Electric Stimulation Revives Man in Near-Coma

Case brings hope, raises questions

(Newser) - Electric stimulation may help improve the brain function of patients in a minimally conscious state, a case study reported in Nature reveals. A 38-year-old man who was mute and barely conscious for nearly 6 years is able to name objects, perform precise movements, and eat without the aid of a...

Some Laser Printers May Be Hazardous to Your Health

Aug 1, 2007 9:27 AM CDT

Some Laser Printers May Be Hazardous to Your Health

Office machines puff pollutants like smokers

(Newser) - Working near a laser printer might be as bad for you as second-hand smoke, according to a new study. Some major brands of printers emit particles of toner that can damage the lungs of people nearby—and even light concentrations can potentially cause heart and lung diseases.

UK Weighs Revolution
in IVF Rules

Aug 1, 2007 6:38 AM CDT

UK Weighs Revolution in IVF Rules

Bill would require birth certificates to note donor involvement

(Newser) - Legislation pending in Britain proposes sweeping changes to fertility laws, including requiring birth certificates to note whether a baby was conceived through in vitro fertilization and an easing of restrictions on so-called "savior siblings." Parents choose to have such children in part because their blood or bone marrow...

Skipping Meds Can Be Deadly

Jul 31, 2007 5:31 AM CDT

Skipping Meds Can Be Deadly

Half of patients undermine health by skipping doses, quitting medication

(Newser) - Half of all patients with chronic illnesses don't take their medication as prescribed, says a new report, undermining their health and hastening their death. Patients with illnesses like heart disease and asthma often skip doses, misunderstand prescriptions or drop medication as soon as they feel better. The result is more...

Chief Justice
Is 'Fully Recovered' After Seizure

Jul 31, 2007 4:30 AM CDT

Chief Justice Is 'Fully Recovered' After Seizure

It's his second mystery collapse

(Newser) - Chief Justice John Roberts was "fully recovered" yesterday evening following a seizure at his island summer home off Maine, according to a Supreme Court spokeswoman as Roberts spent the night in a hospital for observation. Roberts had a thorough neurological evaluation that revealed no cause for concern, the Washington ...

FDA Panel Votes to Keep Avandia on Shelves

Jul 30, 2007 5:38 PM CDT

FDA Panel Votes to Keep Avandia on Shelves

Controversial diabetes drug still faces heart-attack link

(Newser) - An FDA panel said today that GlaxoSmithKline's diabetes drug Avandia should remain in drugstores, despite earlier evidence the pill ups heart failure risks. Glaxo has defended its drug, countering that the risks associated with the popular Avandia are the same as those of other diabetes drugs.

Chief Justice Takes a Tumble

Jul 30, 2007 4:28 PM CDT

Chief Justice Takes a Tumble

Roberts taken to hospital as a precaution after fall at Maine vacation home

(Newser) - Chief Justice John Roberts was taken to the hospital in an ambulance this afternoon after falling at his Maine vacation home, the Supreme Court announced. A spokeswoman said he was conscious after the fall, and an EMT told NBC he was alert on the trip to the hospital. The cause...

New Genetic Ties to MS Found

Jul 29, 2007 6:04 PM CDT

New Genetic Ties to MS Found

Findings represent stunning medical breakthrough

(Newser) - Scientists have pinpointed two genes that may be linked to MS, signaling a breakthrough in the fight against the debilitating disease 20 years in the making. In separate studies published today by two medical journals, researchers revealed one specific gene receptor may trigger cells to inhibit the body's autoimmune reaction,...

Bush Buddy Squelched Health Report

Jul 29, 2007 1:47 PM CDT

Bush Buddy Squelched Health Report

Appointee suppressed surgeon general's unfavorable paper

(Newser) - A Bush appointee spiked a 2006 surgeon general's report on global health issues for not promoting the administration's policy efforts, WaPo reports. Richard Steiger, an HHS official and longtime Bush family friend, suppressed a report urging Americans to take on global health problems, and discussed connections between poverty and illness.

Hospitals Make Progress Against Infections

Jul 27, 2007 12:00 PM CDT

Hospitals Make Progress Against Infections

Cheap measures help caregivers prevent thousands of deaths

(Newser) - Infections picked up in hospitals kill nearly 100,000 people in the US every year and are on the rise, but some institutions seem to have found a remedy: simple hygiene. The Times visits the VA hospital in Pittsburgh, which has slashed the rate of virulent bacterial infections by using...

Reefer Madness: Marijuana Ups Psychosis Risk

Jul 27, 2007 10:46 AM CDT

Reefer Madness: Marijuana Ups Psychosis Risk

New study reveals that pot smokers have a 41% increased chance of psychosis

(Newser) - Smoking pot increases your risk of developing schizophrenia and other forms of psychotic illness later in life, according to a new study. Partakers had a 41% higher chance of developing psychosis with hallucinations or delusions—a risk that only increased with heavy use. The findings may push the UK to...

Soda—Even Diet—Is Linked to Heart Risk

Jul 24, 2007 5:37 AM CDT

Soda—Even Diet—Is Linked to Heart Risk

More than one a day increases metabolic syndrome

(Newser) - People who drink more than one soda a day—even diet soda—face an increased risk of heart trouble, a new study has found. Consumption of soda was linked to metabolic syndrome, a group of symptoms that are risk factors for heart disease, in a new analysis of the 6,...

Drug Recall Hurts Poor HIV Patients

Jul 23, 2007 5:00 PM CDT

Drug Recall Hurts Poor HIV Patients

In many countries, no life-saving meds

(Newser) - In the wake of a drug recall by the Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche, tens of thousands of AIDS patients in the developing world no longer have access to lifesaving medicine. Last month, Roche announced a recall of the drug Viracept, after finding a hazardous chemical in some batches. But in...