As Alice Park reported for TIME, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force released new recommendations for breast cancer screening yesterday, suggesting that women begin routine screenings at age 50, as opposed to age 40, as long recommended by the American Cancer Society. Additionally, the group recommends that women between the ages of
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Some of the best inventions come about by accident—take corn flakes, for example, silly putty, or, of course, Viagra, which was originally designed as a heart medication. And now, in the tradition of accidental innovation, a team of U.S. researchers are hopeful that while their attempt to create a successful antidepressant for women
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New data released by the Centers for Disease Control show that, in spite of public health efforts and education campaigns to combat them, sexually transmitted diseases continue to rise, with 19 million new cases costing the U.S. health care system some $15.9 billion annually. But what exactly is driving this surge—higher levels of
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A study published this week in the journal Pediatrics finds that childhood allergies are on the rise in the U.S., with nearly 4% of children now reporting food allergies. Between 1997 and 2007 self-reported food allergies increased by 18%, according to estimates from the Centers for Disease Control. The finding comes as small scale
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Prenatal exposure to common chemicals used to soften plastics may impact boys’ play behavior later in life, according to new research published in the International Journal of Andrology.
“Look both ways before you cross the street.” Along with, “Stop, drop and roll,” it’s a safety lesson that is drilled into children from a very young age. Yet for all of our practice, according to research from psychologists at the University of Illinois, pedestrians have a tendency to skimp on safety when distracted by talking on a cell
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A team of Australian researchers are set to begin a clinical trial next year to see if a technique for regrowing breast tissue will prove successful in humans. The novel strategy, which could offer hope to breast cancer patients who have undergone mastectomies as part of treatment, involves placing a “scaffolding” in the breast, and
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With cigarette taxes incrementally crawling upward, indoor smoking bans gaining traction across the country, and the dangers of smoking regularly hammered home by public health officials and news outlets, it would seem that the U.S. is winning the war against cigarettes. But, according to the results of a new survey conducted by the
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Amid fears that religious ritual was eroding due to swine flu fears, an innovative Catholic from the town of Fornaci di Briosco in northern Italy has invented an electronic holy water dispenser. As Reuters first reported, inventor Luciano Marabese first developed the dispenser—which works similarly to soap dispensers, but instead
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Finding comfort within a group may be helpful when it comes to therapy, but when it comes to justifying bad ideas, taking cues from others can steer you the wrong direction, according to new research from Northwestern University. As the Los Angeles Times reports, the notion that “everyone else is doing it” can be detrimental—and even
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When the Food and Drug Administration announced its plans late last month to ban the U.S. sale of raw oysters harvested during warmer months in the Gulf of Mexico, regional oystermen and connoisseurs of the shellfish alike cried foul.
In an attempt to bring better diagnostic tools to health care workers and rural patients in developing countries, researchers with STAR Analytical Services are working to develop a mobile phone application that can recognize—and distinguish between—different types of coughs. The goal is to create a simple, portable method to help
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Giving Tamiflu to patients who may have been exposed to swine flu—such as family members of confirmed cases—as a preventive measure, may result in their developing drug-resistant strains of the virus, according to an account published in this week’s issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. In a letter to the editor, a team of
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