Some airlines have strict rules about how much pilots can drink the night before they’re supposed to fly, and now some researchers think similar rules should apply to surgeons the night before they operate.
Policy & Industry
Why Anti-Abortion Activists Leave Birth Control Out of the Debate
In case you missed Senator Jon Kyl’s recent, nonsensical argument for defunding Planned Parenthood, the New York Times’ Gail Collins had an incisive take on it last week. Much of the debate over the value of Planned Parenthood …
The Lost Art of Doctoring
The baby was just not coming out. Not a very big problem — not in a birthing room in a world-famous obstetric hospital, where nurses, midwives and aides, and doctors, lots of them, were packed in cheek-by-jowl. The major …
CT Scan Use Soars in Children, Raising Concerns Over Radiation
Bellyaches, head bumps and pain are all ailments that children complain about and parents fret over. But do they always warrant a CT scan in the emergency room?
Airport Scanner Safety: What Do Doctors Do?
CNN’s senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, was traveling a few months ago when she noticed a man asking to opt out of the full-body scan at the airport security checkpoint, and getting a manual pat-down instead. In the …
Why Water Walking Balls Are Risky
People shouldn’t attempt walking on water because it isn’t safe, the government said, cautioning people not to climb into the large, plastic “water walking” balls that have grown in popularity as rides in amusement parks, malls …
A Possible Antidote for Radiation Exposure from CT Scans?
With traces of radioactive material from Fukushima appearing in rainwater as far away as Boston, concerns about radiation exposure are at an all-time high. But even if you’re not anxious about contamination from Japan, you may …
Medical Marijuana Sales Grow to Rival Viagra’s: New Report
Medical marijuana is becoming big business — racking up sales totals that rival those for Viagra, according to a new report.
What’s in Your Freezer? Lean Cuisine Spaghetti with Meatballs Recalled
Nestlé Prepared Foods voluntarily recalled 9.5-oz. packages of Lean Cuisine Simple Favorites Spaghetti with Meatballs on Monday after reports surfaced of customers finding red plastic inside the meatballs.
FDA Approves the First New Lupus Drug in 50 Years
[Post updated March 10] For the first time in half a century, lupus sufferers have a new drug that could help control their disease, and it’s the first medication that works directly on the immune cells responsible for the …
Doctors Who Feel Your Pain Heal More Patients
Empathy is often seen as a nice — but nonessential — part of medicine. Indeed, for surgeons in the operating room, seeing the patient as a human being may actually be an obstacle to successful performance. At the bedside, …
Scientists Grow New Body Parts in the Lab
Watching human organs take shape in a lab dish is no longer the realm of science fiction: as scientists get better at applying engineering techniques to living cells and tissues, lab-grown organs are increasingly becoming a reality.
Medical Research Fraud Risks Millions of Patients’ Lives in Europe
At the center of a medical research scandal that is being compared to the Wakefield hoax that connected vaccines with autism is a disgraced German anesthesiologist, who has been stripped of his professorship, fired from his …