public health

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Gupta's Right Doc for Political Prime Time
Gupta's Right Doc for Political Prime Time
ANALYSIS
Jan 7, 2009 4:41 AM CST

Gupta's Right Doc for Political Prime Time

CNN's medicine man will help push preventive health care message, Park notes

(Newser) - Barack Obama's choice of CNN's health correspondent as his surgeon general is raising eyebrows, but the pick underlines Obama's plans to focus on preventive care, Alice Park writes in Time. The telegenic Sanjay Gupta, while lacking the government experience most surgeon generals have brought to the job, has anchored specials...

Three Genes Made 1918 Flu So Deadly
Three Genes Made 1918 Flu So Deadly
Dec 30, 2008 2:58 PM CST

Three Genes Made 1918 Flu So Deadly

They cause pneumonia by letting virus into lungs

(Newser) - Researchers have pinpointed the reason the flu pandemic of 1918 was “the most devastating outbreak of infectious disease in human history,” Reuters reports. The key is a combination of three genes that allowed the virus to enter the lungs and cause pneumonia. Typically, the flu affects only the...

Not Scared of TB? You Should Be

Resistant strain could ravage the world, and we're not ready

(Newser) - "Global complacency" could give rise to a terrifying, drug-resistant form of tuberculosis, writes Nicholas Kristof in the New York Times—and not in some remote outpost on the globe. There have been fewer than 100 cases of this XDR-TB in the past 15 years in the US, but with...

Score Card on Late White House Rules Changes

Bush administration pushes through midnight regulations

(Newser) - With the  Bush White House pushing through a raft of last-minute rules, the nonprofit journalism group ProPublica offers a running list, with the status of each:
  • Business-friendly safety regulations would loosen restrictions on exposure to toxic chemicals in the workplace.
  • Local police would get increased surveillance ability.
  • Loaded guns would
...

Google to Track Flu Outbreaks Across US

Company teams with CDC to improve warning system

(Newser) - Google is teaming up with the CDC to track flu outbreaks around the nation and give people earlier warnings, ABC News reports. The new site (http://www.google.org/flutrends/) relies on the notion that people turn to the Web when they're sick by typing phrases such as "flu symptoms"...

Gates Gambles Big on Bold Medical Probes

$10M in public-health grants eschew peer review for innovation

(Newser) - The Gates Foundation has awarded more than $10 million to medical researchers with quirky ideas that might not be funded otherwise, the Washington Post reports. The initiative, dubbed Grand Challenges Explorations, offered a simple 2-page application and vetting by entrepreneurs, not medical professionals. “Peer review—by definition almost—excludes...

12 Ways Climate Change Could Kill You

Warmer temperatures may cause spread of dangerous pathogens

(Newser) - A dozen deadly diseases may become even deadlier as a result of climate change, Scientific American reports. Cholera, tuberculosis, yellow fever, and other ailments are spreading to new areas as temperatures rise, a Wildlife Conservation Society study says. The society suggests monitoring wildlife to prevent a human outbreak of “...

India Readies Smoking Ban; Unruly Public Shrugs

Prohibition carries $5 penalty in country with average income of $1K

(Newser) - India is about to institute a ban on smoking in public places, including bars, restaurants, hotels and hospitals, the Wall Street Journal reports. The ban, which begins Thursday, is being greeted warmly by health officials, with skepticism by smokers on the ground. “Such rules are made and broken every...

College Kids Take Global Outlook to Class

Interest in public health leads to skyrocketing course enrollment

(Newser) - In less than a generation, college students' international perspective has transformed many colleges' public health-related programs and courses. The AIDS epidemic served as a catalyst by opening young people’s eyes to the global character of disease, and the ease of worldwide travel and communication is spurring involvement abroad. The...

Surgeon General Targets Killer Blood Clots

Easily treated 'silent' condition kills about 100,000 each year

(Newser) - An easily treatable complication related to blood clots kills 100,000 Americans every year, but a new federal awareness campaign aims to change that, the AP reports. Although deep vein thrombosis affects up to 600,000 people a year, "I don't think most people understand that this is a...

New HIV Study Shows Disease Accelerating

CDC finds 40% more cases than thought; blacks' rate alarming

(Newser) - A new CDC study of Americans with HIV conducted with new technology shows that the virus is spreading faster than previously thought, reports the New York Times. In 2006, more than 56,000 were newly infected with the virus that causes AIDS—40% more than anticipated. The study also showed...

US Scratches Out Scourge of Chickenpox

Vaccine has almost eradicated itchy childhood disease

(Newser) - Thirteen years after the introduction of a vaccine, chickenpox has virtually disappeared among American children. The virus that causes the itchy disease is now so rare that parents and physicians alike have difficulty recognizing it, the Chicago Tribune reports. New research reveals a 75% drop in pox-related hospitalizations over the...

HIV Adoptions From Abroad on Rise

Ethiopia leads nations on finding US homes

(Newser) - More US families are adopting HIV-infected children from overseas, primarily in Ethiopia, the AP reports. Stats from one international agency show 38 adoptions of infected Ethiopian children this year, up from 13 in 2007 and four in 2006. HIV adoptions have also increased in China, Ghana, Haiti, and Russia, say...

Ovarian Cancer Test 'Premature,' Critics Worry

Early screening's false positives may cause unneeded surgeries

(Newser) - Though a new ovarian cancer test gives hope that the 21,000 new cancer cases expected this year may be detected at a treatable stage, the FDA is worried OvaSure may do more harm than good, the New York Times reports. If the unregulated test detects cancer where there isn't...

Recession Makes Us Healthier
 Recession Makes Us Healthier 
ANALYSIS
Aug 25, 2008 4:35 PM CDT

Recession Makes Us Healthier

Strapped budgets can help people improve habits

(Newser) - A slow economy might mean more people are stressed, but research shows that tough times are actually good for us, the Los Angeles Times reports. Rates of illnesses—particularly those related to lifestyle changes, like heart disease—decrease, as do accident and death rates. And while some may drown their...

1918 Flu Survivors Still Have Killer Antibodies

Findings help fight against avian flu

(Newser) - The flu pandemic that killed up to 100 million people in 1918 left survivors with a strong set of antibodies—strong enough to still be viable today, Reuters reports. Mice given survivor antibodies managed to fight off the deadly flu when they were infected with the virus extracted from exhumed...

Burger King Bather in Hot Water
 Burger King Bather in Hot Water 
Aug 12, 2008 5:03 PM CDT

Burger King Bather in Hot Water

Public health uproar ensues after prank video goes online

(Newser) - Diners in Ohio are feeling queasy after an internet video surfaced yesterday showing a young man taking a bath in a local Burger King’s sink. In the video, employees and a store manager watch a heavily tattooed “Mr. Unstable” relax in a bubble bath. Burger King reps tell...

'Coercive Paternalism' Is Bad Parenting

Laws designed to force public to choose healthy options is 'Orwellian'

(Newser) - Under the banner of what’s good for you, an insidious new trend is growing. “Coercive paternalism,” Steve Chapman writes in Reason, is the wrong-minded older sibling of the much-in-vogue “libertarian paternalism” responsible for dietary information in chain restaurants. “Libertarian paternalists … limit themselves to promoting...

Americans Face Hearing Loss 'Epidemic'

Hearing impairment far more common than expected

(Newser) - Americans are likely to face an epidemic of hearing impairment in coming years as the use of personal listening devices soars and the population ages, Reuters reports. A third of adults already has hearing loss to some degree and the proportion is expected to rise significantly. White Americans, men, and...

US Health Care Stinks: Study
 US Health Care
 Stinks: Study 
Jul 17, 2008 10:33 AM CDT

US Health Care Stinks: Study

Huge inefficiencies put American system last among 19 developed nations

(Newser) - The US health care system gets dismal grades in a ranking of 19 industrialized countries, Reuters reports. A private foundation looked at key indicators like efficiency and access, and found the US did very poorly despite spending the most money—putting it last on the list. Health-care dollars were squandered...

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