May 15 Study Pinpoints Link Between Fitness and Cancer in Men Photo courtesy: Flickr user Josiah Mackenzie There's new evidence out today that being fit reduces your risk for getting cancer. The study, released at the American Society of Clinical Oncology's annual meeting, looked at the link between… Continue reading
May 14 Jolie’s Decision Sheds Light on BRCA Gene, Importance of Genetic Counseling Angelina Jolie announced that she has undergone a double mastectomy after she learned she was strongly predisposed to developing breast cancer and ovarian cancer. Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images The news went viral right away. Movie star Angelina Jolie… Continue reading
May 14 The Day Doctors Began to Conquer Smallpox By Dr. Howard Markel Sixteenth century Aztec drawing of smallpox victims. Photo from Wikimedia Commons. One of the most celebrated medical anniversaries concerns a country doctor named Edward Jenner (1749-1823) who lived in the tiny village of Berkeley in Gloucestershire, Great Britain. Like… Continue reading
May 14 Commander Hadfield Reports to Ground Control Astronaut Chris Hadfield performs David Bowie's "Space Oddity" in microgravity. Commander Chris Hadfield is a great many things: a photographer, an educator, a social media maven -- did I forget to mention astronaut? And it's with great delight… Continue reading
May 13 Prescription Drug Abuse: CDC Answers Your Questions PBS NewsHour recently aired a report on prescription drug abuse that led viewers to ask many questions. We asked the CDC to answer them, below. One in 20 people in the United States say they've used prescription painkillers… Continue reading
May 10 In South Africa, Using Mobile Technology to Improve Maternal Health Access MAMA users in South Africa receive daily text messages filled with tips and reminders about the health of their babies. Photo by Imani M. Cheers/IRP. Memory Banda is busy. Her 10-month old son is teething and taking his first… Continue reading
May 09 Eight Types of Nurses You Never Knew Existed By Hari Sreenivasan There are 3.2 million registered nurses in the U.S., and that will not be nearly enough in coming years as the Affordable Care Act kicks in and baby boomers begin to need more care. According to the Bureau of Labor… Continue reading
May 08 Watch Seeking Method Behind the Madness of Hospital Billing Disparities Seeking Method Behind the Madness of Hospital Billing Disparities… Continue watching
May 08 New Report Shows Staggering Differences in the Cost of Medical Treatments A new report released by the federal government raises questions about how exactly hospitals determine the cost of treatment, after it revealed that facilities across the country are charging wildly different amounts for the same medical procedures. The Center… Continue reading
May 08 Preventing Drug Shortages With Cell Phones in Malawi Eighty percent of the 13 million Malawians live in rural areas, making delivering health services challenging, especially in remote parts with no roads. Photo courtesy of JSI/cStock. BALAKA, Malawi -- Saidi Masemba's clinic is a small, two-room mud hut… Continue reading