Dec 19 Hugs help protect against the common cold, research finds By Nora Daly A team of researchers at Carnegie Mellon University found that frequent hugging helps reduce individuals’ susceptibility to infections associated with stress, and reduces the severity of symptoms if an infection is contracted by providing increased social support. Continue reading
Dec 18 Climate change could cut 18 percent of world food production by 2050 By Rebecca Jacobson, Inside Energy Farmers are already suffering from droughts worsened by global climate change. A study published in the journal Environmental Research Letters found that by 2050, global climate change could cut world food production by 18 percent. Environmental scientists suspect… Continue reading
Dec 18 The secret ingredient for getting through holiday stress? Gratitude By Leah Eskenazi, Family Caregiver Alliance Navigating through a jolly holiday season and wishes for a wonderful new year when living with a chronic, debilitating health condition or caring for someone might have you thinking, “this is no holiday!” But researchers are documenting how expressing thanks… Continue reading
Dec 18 Public easily swayed on attitudes toward health care law, poll finds By Julie Rovner, KFF Health News Just days before the requirement for most large employers to provide health insurance takes effect, a new poll finds the public easily swayed over arguments for and against the policy. Continue reading
Dec 16 Watch 8:46 Getting 'to zero' in the fight against Ebola By PBS News Hour This year’s Ebola outbreak has claimed the lives of more than 6,800 people, according to the World Health Organization. “If you leave a single case untreated and then if you let that transmission continue, it could explode again,” Dr. Jim… Continue watching
Dec 16 Can government policies correct race and ethnicity disparities in child health? By Ashira Morris When Dolores Acevedo-Garcia and Pamela K. Joshi set out to study the racial and ethnic equity of federal policies impacting child health, they didn’t expect it to be terribly difficult. After all, they figured, there are federal mandates that require… Continue reading
Dec 16 More teens use e-cigarettes than tobacco ones, survey reveals By Lauran Neergaard, Associated Press WASHINGTON — Electronic cigarettes have surpassed traditional smoking in popularity among teens, the government’s annual drug use survey finds. Continue reading
Dec 16 Insurers relax Obamacare deadline By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, Associated Press WASHINGTON — Trying to head off a new round of consumer headaches with President Barack Obama's health care law, the insurance industry said Tuesday it will give customers more time to pay their premiums for January. Continue reading
Dec 15 Watch 4:45 Bloodletting and blisters: Solving the medical mystery of George Washington's death By PBS News Hour Learn the gruesome details of President George Washington’s final hours on the 215th anniversary of his death. The retired commander-in-chief woke up at 2 a.m. on Dec. 14, 1799, with a sore throat. After a series of medical procedures, including… Continue watching
Dec 15 Small businesses drop health coverage and shift employees to Obamacare By Jay Hancock, Kaiser Health News For two decades Atlanta restaurant owner Jim Dunn offered a group health plan to his managers and helped pay for it. That ended Dec. 1, after the Affordable Care Act made him an offer he couldn’t refuse. Continue reading