A collection of studies to be published in the November 4 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association offer insights into the H1N1 flu strain that has now caused the deaths of at least 4,500 people worldwide, and which World Health Organization officials estimate will continue to be classified as a pandemic for several
…
Children with persistent abdominal pain were able to find some relief through a novel technique that recruited their imaginations, according to a study published in the journal Pediatrics. Of the study participants, half regularly listened to recordings that instructed them to imagine themselves floating on a cloud, for example,
…
Modern pregnancy may seem an exercise in memory at times—remembering which foods to avoid (soft cheese, swordfish, cold cuts, etc.), how much caffeine you can consume (not much), and of course, how often you need to take all of those prenatal vitamins. Yet, for pregnant women with asthma, one item in particular should move to the top
…
The debate about the safety and social implications of the Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine for young girls continues—and reached a frenzied pitch with the death of a British teen hours after getting the cervical cancer vaccine, despite initial evidence that her demise was the result of a “serious underlying medical condition.”
…
Drunk driving continues to be a major problem across the U.S., (especially in more rural areas where intoxicated revelers who don’t assign a designated driver don’t have many public transportation options). In 2008 alone, 11,773 people were killed in crashes where one of the drivers was over the legal limit, according to the
…
Despite the lack of evidence suggesting that double mastectomies can improve long-term survival rates for women diagnosed with cancer in one breast, many more women in this position opting for the procedure, according to a study published late last month in the journal Cancer. The analysis, which considered all of the mastectomies
…
Widespread recalls and horror stories about salmonella and E. coli outbreaks have become common fodder for news stories in the U.S. in recent years, and even worked their way into our collective pop culture — in the October …
While their 11-year-old daughter Madeline lay dying, Dale and Leilani Neumann huddled around her in prayer. Though her health had been visibly deteriorating for some time, it wasn’t until after the child took her last breath that her parents called for medical help. The Wisconsin couple, who were sentenced to serve one month in jail
…
For all of their oversimplification on the pages of Playboy or on the streets at Mardi Gras, breasts are pretty complex body parts. And better understanding their unique composition of glands, lobes, lobules, fatty tissue, and ducts may help physicians better determine which women are at highest risk for breast cancer. In fact,
…
Wear clean underwear, brush your teeth, say please and thank you—and sit up straight. Once again, it turns out that mom may have science on her side when it comes to doling out advice. In addition to the benefits to your muscles and spine, good posture can also help boost your confidence, according to psychologists at Ohio State and
…
The emergence of the birth control pill in 1960 is largely credited with ushering in a new era of female sexual independence. In the decades since the pill has become a standard component of many women’s contraceptive routines—100 million women worldwide currently take the birth control pill, according to United Nations estimates. Yet,
…
According to new research, it turns out that spending lots of time riding around with the top down doesn’t just put your hairdo at risk. A study presented at a meeting of the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Foundation this week in San Diego finds that regularly riding in a convertible without any ear protection
…
A law put into effect in July 2008 that banned fast food restaurants in a section of Los Angeles for one year may have been well intended, but missed the point, according to a study by the non-profit research organization, RAND Corporation, published online in the journal Health Affairs. Economist Roland Sturm and natural scientist …