Tag: health & medicine
Supreme Court rules human genes can't be patented
The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that companies cannot patent parts of naturally-occurring human genes, a decision with the potential to profoundly affect the emerging and lucrative medical and biotechnology industries. ...
Obama administration drops objection to Plan B ruling
President Barack Obama's government has dropped its opposition to a court decision that allows the Plan B emergency contraceptive to be bought over-the-counter by women of any age. Proponents had argued the pill was safe and a useful safety net against unwanted pregnancy. ...
Bioethicist says parents who don't vaccinate should face liability for consequences
A doctor and medical ethicist says parents who choose not to vaccinate their children should be liable, in the form of lawsuits, for anyone who becomes sick from their child. Dr. Art Caplan's comments come as New York City is fighting to contain a growing epidemic of the measles....
Oregon to try paying pregnant women to quit smoking
Some 19 percent of U.S. adults smoke, some of them when they're pregnant. Oregon is launching a new program that will offer financial incentives to women who smoke and quit while they're pregnant. ...
Israeli medical experience influential in Boston response to marathon bombings
American hospitals don't have deep experience with injuries from explosions in urban areas. When the hospitals were faced with treating hundreds wounded by the Boston Marathon attacks, they could have been overwhelmed. But they weren't, in part because of lessons learned by Israel....
Police still looking for evidence as focus shifts to new suspect in ricin letters
For several days, Paul Kevin Curtis was the prime suspect in the investigation into the mailing of letters contaminated with ricin poisoning to the president and Capitol Hill. But now, James Everett Dutschke has come under suspicion, though he too, pleads his innocence....
Monitoring infectious diseases online, on Twitter, gives early warning of outbreaks
Scientists and public health officials are increasingly using digital surveillance tools to monitor diseases and plan how to react to outbreaks. The new technology has shortened by half the amount of time it takes for public health officials to determine that an outbreak has occurred....
Judge rules Plan B must be available to all without a prescription
A federal judge handed a victory to women's health advocates, saying that the federal government erred when it overruled a panel of scientists who recommended that Plan B One-Step be made available to women of all ages. He gave the government 30 days to change its policies....
Scientists find surprisingly good health levels in ethnically homogeneous neighborhoods
Poverty is often associated with poor health, and that's still largely true. But, according to new research, some of those negative impacts can be countered when people live in an ethnically homogeneous neighborhood, even if it's largely poor....
In Sudan, women moving to shed pounds as ideal body image changes
It's been Sudanese tradition for generations to encourage women to weigh as much as possible when they marry. But, as the importance of health, and the impact of obesity on health, has become more apparent, and as global images of women have become more prevalent, that's all starting to change....
