Policy & Industry

+Safety

Doctors Report Rise in Kids Eating Detergent Packs

By Nomaan Merchant | AP

Miniature laundry detergent packets arrived on store shelves in recent months as an alternative to bulky bottles and messy spills. But doctors across the country say children are confusing the tiny, brightly colored packets with candy and swallowing them.

+Safety | May 24, 2012

Propofol for Execution: Missouri Chooses Untested Drug for Lethal Injection

By Jim Salter | AP
Fred Prouser / Reuters

The same anesthetic that caused the overdose death of pop star Michael Jackson is now the drug of choice for executions in Missouri, causing a stir among critics who question how the state can guarantee a drug untested for lethal injection won’t cause pain and suffering for the condemned.

+Safety | May 22, 2012

Injury Prevention Report Card: Nearly Half of U.S. States Score Low

By Alexandra Sifferlin
artpartner-images / Getty Images

Many states are failing to enforce proven strategies to prevent injury, such as requiring bike helmets for kids or enacting primary seat belt laws.

+Doctors & Nurses | May 17, 2012

Why Some Medical Students Are Learning Their Cadavers’ Names

By Dina Fine Maron
Charles Dharapak / AP

At one Indiana medical school, students are taught to think of their cadavers as their first patients — and may even meet their families. Critics contend this may cross an ethical line and put students in an uncomfortable position.

+Labeling | May 15, 2012

FDA: New Sunscreen Guidelines Delayed Six Months

By Alexandra Sifferlin
Peter Cade / Getty Images

Rhode Island Senator Jack Reed says “more consumers will likely get burned this summer” due to the FDA’s delay in implementing stricter sunscreen-labeling guidelines

+Obesity | May 11, 2012

FDA Panel Backs Approval of Weight-Loss Drug Lorcaserin

By Alexandra Sifferlin
Paul Damien / Getty Images

On Thursday, a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) panel voted 18-to-4 to approve the prescription diet drug lorcaserin. It’s the second diet pill to be endorsed by an FDA advisory panel this year and, if approved, would be first new weight-loss drug in more than a decade.

+AIDS | May 10, 2012

FDA Panel Backs Approval of First Drug to Prevent HIV

By Matthew Perrone | AP
Justin Sullivan / Getty Images

The first drug shown to prevent HIV infection won the endorsement of a panel of federal advisers Thursday, clearing the way for a landmark approval in the 30-year fight against the virus that causes AIDS.

+AIDS | May 10, 2012

FDA Panel to Vote on Approval of First Drug to Prevent HIV

By Alice Park
Justin Sullivan / Getty Images

Recent studies suggest that drugs used for HIV treatment can also protect healthy people from infection. But can these medications really turn the tide of the AIDS epidemic?

+AIDS | May 9, 2012

Truvada for HIV Prevention: FDA Review Is Favorable

By Matthew Perrone | AP
Sullivan/Getty Images

A pill that has long been used to treat HIV has moved one step closer to becoming the first drug approved to prevent healthy people from becoming infected with the virus that causes AIDS.

+Safety | May 8, 2012

Are Airplane Seats Safe Enough for Overweight Passengers?

By Alexandra Sifferlin
craftvision / Getty Images

On Monday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention forecasted that 42% of Americans could be obese by 2030. Our expanding waistlines constitute not only a medical crisis, but according to a recent story in the New York Times, it could also endanger personal safety in some situations — namely in an airplane crash.