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+Infectious Disease | April 18, 2012

Doctor Infects Himself with Hookworm for Health Experiment

By Alexandra Sifferlin

Talk about dedication to the job. To test the association between hookworms — intestinal parasites — and food allergies, Dr. James Logan infected himself with the suckers and swallowed a pill camera to film the action in his gut.

+Environmental Health | November 8, 2011

Why Air Fresheners Can Trigger Respiratory Problems

By Bryan Walsh
Getty Images

They may smell sweet, but popular air fresheners can cause serious lung problems.

+Environmental Health | August 2, 2011

Could Microwaves Be Associated With Children’s Asthma?

By Alice Park
Getty Images

Exposure to electromagnetic fields has been linked to a number of health problems, including cancer and immune system and reproductive abnormalities, and now the latest research adds another concern to the list: childhood asthma.

+Numbers | July 15, 2011

$1,160

Price in U.S. dollars of an 11-oz. (300 g) gecko in the Philippines, according to Filipino environment officials. Geckos are reportedly exported to other parts of Asia as a folk remedy for asthma, AIDS, cancer, tuberculosis and impotence, although the Filipino government warned Friday there is no scientific evidence that geckos can cure any of [...]

+Body & Mind | July 14, 2011

Study: For Asthma Patients, Placebos Feel Just as Good as the Drug

By Tara Thean

Sometimes the mind provides the most powerful medicine of all. A new Harvard Medical School investigation in asthma patients shows that the “placebo effect” — in which patients experience real benefits from sham treatments — can be as effective as standard medical therapy.

+Numbers | May 4, 2011

1 in 12

Number of Americans with asthma in 2009, a sharp increase since 2001, according to government statistics. The rate of asthma ticked up in all demographic groups, but especially in children: 9.6% of children now have asthma, up from 7.7% in 2001. Health officials don't know why asthma is increasing, even while major triggers like cigarette [...]

+Environmental Health | May 4, 2011

Environmental Toxins Cost Billions in Childhood Disease

By Bryan Walsh
Nash Photos via Getty Images

Back in 2002, Philip Landrigan and a team of other researchers at Mount Sinai Medical School estimated the annual cost of four childhood conditions — lead poisoning, cancer, developmental disabilities and asthma — that could be connected to environmental factors. The numbers were surprising: Landrigan estimated that the environmental factors cost as much as $54.8 [...]

+Environmental Health | May 2, 2011

BPA Exposure in Pregnancy May Be Linked to Childhood Asthma

By Bryan Walsh
Getty Images

Endocrine disruption, diabetes, obesity — to the list of ills potentially associated with exposure to the chemical bisphenol-A (BPA), you can add one more: childhood asthma.

+Photos Public Health | March 2, 2011

5 Reasons Climate Change Is Bad for Your Health

By Bryan Walsh

Climate change is what the people at the Pentagon like to call a “threat multiplier.” Warming takes existing dangers like political instability in developing nations, and amplifies them in ways that can be hard to predict — but which are rarely positive. That goes for human health too.

+Numbers | January 13, 2011

1 in 12

Number of Americans who report having asthma, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The national asthma rate increased slightly in 2009, rising from 8% to 8.2%, accounting for roughly 25 million people [via The Washington Post]