Health

Why 'vaginal swabbing' your newborn might not be a good idea

By Megan Thielking, STAT

Parents-to-be increasingly request 'vaginal swabbing' after C-section births, but experts caution it could introduce viruses to the baby.

HealthCare.gov 'passive' on heading off fraud

By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, Associated Press

WASHINGTON — With billions in taxpayer dollars at stake, the Obama administration has taken a "passive" approach to identifying potential fraud involving the president's health care law, nonpartisan congressional investigators say in a report due out Wednesday.

State governments strive to curb epidemic of fatal opioid abuse

By PBS News Hour

Abuse of opioids such as heroin, oxycontin and methadone led to 28,000 deaths last year, according to federal agencies. Many states are taking steps to combat the epidemic, but proposed solutions have attracted their own share of controversy and criticism.

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1 in 2 gay black men may contract HIV in their lifetimes, new data show

By Andrew Joseph, STAT

Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated a person’s lifetime risk of HIV diagnosis by sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and state of residence.

Elephant genes hold big hopes for cancer researchers

By PBS News Hour

Elephants have 100 times more cells in their bodies than humans, which should make them far more vulnerable to cancer than we are. But less than 5 percent of elephant deaths are linked to cancer, which researchers credit to the…

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At least six dead in Fiji after powerful cyclone rips through the Pacific

By Michael D. Regan

At least six people in Fiji have died following one of the strongest Category-5 storm ever to strike the Southern Hemisphere. Cyclone Winston reached wind gusts of more than 200 mph as residents of Fiji on Sunday began surveying the…