Today, some major health insurance regulations created by the Affordable Care Act kick in. These consumer protections have kind-hearted-sounding descriptions like “coverage for kids with pre-existing conditions,” but they come …
Study: City Life Spreads Disease, But If It Doesn’t Kill You…
Following the news that the rise of cities contributed to the spread of HIV is a more heartening take on urbanity: a history of city living may have helped some populations develop resistance to tuberculosis (TB).
CommittedChildhood
New at the School Fete: The Possum Throwing Contest!
A rural school in New Zealand has become the center of a brouhaha over a recent school fair in which an informal possum throwing contest was held.
Family MattersParenting
Similac Recall Outrages Parents: Are Beetles Bad?
In a press release to announce the recall of up to 5 million containers of top-selling Similac powder formula sold mainly in the U.S., drug maker Abbott Laboratories sought to soothe parents.
Another Study Questions the Benefit of Routine Mammograms
When the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) changed its screening-mammography guidelines last year — recommending against routine annual mammograms for women in their 40s — the announcement met with some resistance. …
CommittedCulture
Is Katy Perry a Sesame Streetwalker, or Do Viewers Just Want Her to Be?
After a barrage of complaints, a video of Katy Perry playing tag with Elmo has been pulled from Sesame Street. Parents took exception to the revealing cut of her outfit, which, considering what she usually wears in videos, …
FDA Severely Limits Use of Diabetes Drug Avandia
U.S. and European drug agencies came to a similar decision to severely restrict use of the antidiabetes medication rosiglitazone, or Avandia. But while the European Medicines Agency is suspending sales of the drug in E.U. …
What Goes on Inside the Brain of a Misbehaving Boy?
When it comes to raising civilized kids there are no hard rules, but there are two things on which most parents agree: Boys are generally wilder than girls, and adolescents are wilder than kids of any other age.
How Religion Was Edited Out of AA’s Bible: Early ‘Big Book’ Manuscript Soon to Be Published
The “Big Book” of Alcoholics Anonymous has long been seen as holy writ by AA members. But for the first time ever, recovering alcoholics, scholars and the public will have access to the original manuscript, including editorial …
The Impact of Alzheimer’s Disease by the (Very Scary) Numbers
Suffering is always hard to quantify — especially when the pain is caused by as cruel a disease as Alzheimer’s. Most illnesses attack the body; Alzheimer’s destroys the mind — and in the process, annihilates the very self. …
CommittedPregnancy
Giving Birth the IKEA Way: Do It Yourself
Apparently, the Swedes take their D-I-Y very seriously, and not just for oddly named furniture. A new mother from Sundsvall in Northern Sweden called her local newspaper to complain after she was asked to clean out her own …
Why You Need to Worry About NDM-1: Not a ‘Superbug,’ But Still a Threat
Antibiotic-resistant bugs have been around almost as long as antibiotics, and health officials have long warned about the looming danger of superstrains — bacteria that are impervious to all of our available antibiotic medications.
Want Good Health? There Are 10 Apps for That
O.K., granted, your smartphone’s signal might be increasing your risk of cancer, but if you download the right apps, your digital device can also be a health advantage. Healthland picked the 10 best wellness-inspiring apps for …