Follow major League Baseball and you expect to read about a lot of guys suffering physical problems — blown elbows, torn rotator cuffs, wrecked knees. What you don’t expect to read about are brain tumors.
Medicine
Three Possible Cases of E. Coli Illness in U.S.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced on Thursday that it is investigating three suspected cases E. coli infection related to the outbreak in Germany. All three people have recently traveled to Hamburg.
Watch Out for the Cows. They Might Be Carrying a New Strain of MRSA
The medical news this week has been dominated by the possible carcinogenicity of cell phones and the virulent E. coli outbreak in Europe. But I hope your closet of fear isn’t full yet — I’ve got one more bit of medical worry to …
AIDS at 30: Medical Milestones in the Battle Against a Modern Plague
When the federal government reported on June 5, 1981, that “5 young men, all active homosexuals” had been diagnosed with Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia in Los Angeles, no one yet knew that these were the country’s first reported …
Should We Be Trying Harder to Find a Cure for AIDS?
Since AIDS was first diagnosed, 30 years ago this week, HIV has infected more than 60 million people, half of whom have died. Only one person has been found to be cured of HIV, however — known as the “Berlin patient.” In this …
Why Health Authorities Are So Worried About Europe’s Mutant E. Coli Outbreak
Health officials were worried enough about an unusually virulent outbreak of food-borne illness from the E. coli bacteria, which has infected more than 1,500 people in Germany and killed at least 17. But the concern jumped to …
FDA Reviews Popular Birth Control Pills for Blood Clot Risk
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said it is reviewing the safety of birth control pills like Bayer’s Yaz and Yasmin because of concerns that they may raise women’s risk of blood clots more than other pills.
Cell Phones: How Precautionary Should Our Principles Be?
TIME is endeavoring to give you every angle you need on the possible connection between cell-phone use and brain cancer. (Speaking of which: five ways to reduce your exposure to cell-phone radiation.) But as I’ve followed the …
Study: For Obese Women, Quality of Life Suffers More
A lot of factors determine your health-related quality of life, including your weight. In general, the heavier you are — that is, the further you veer into overweight territory — the worse your quality of life. But a new …
Study: Could Brain Scans Help Spot Autism?
A brain scan may someday be able to help identify cases of autism, a new study suggests. Currently, autism is diagnosed based on subjective evaluations of a child’s behavioral and developmental deficits, but researchers at …
Q&A: A Food-Safety Expert Explains Germany’s E. Coli Outbreak
As of Tuesday evening, a virulent and mysterious type of E. coli had killed 16 people in northern Germany and Sweden and sickened 1,150 others in Germany alone.
WHO Says Cell Phone Radiation Is “Possibly Carcinogenic.” Now What?
Using a mobile phone may increase your risk for certain kinds of brain cancers. That was the scientific conclusion relayed today by a working group of 31 scientists from 14 countries meeting at the World Health Organization’s …
Viewpoint: In Wake of Founder’s Arrest, ‘Shock School’ for Autistic Children Should Be Shuttered
On an August night four years ago, following phoned-in instructions from someone they believed was a supervisor, staff members of a group home for emotionally disturbed boys in Stoughton, Mass., rousted two teenage residents from …