Oct 23 New breast cancer screening guidelines unlikely to affect insurance coverage By Michelle Andrews, Kaiser Health News The American Cancer Society’s new breast cancer screening guidelines recommend that women start screening later and get fewer mammograms, but the change is unlikely to affect insurance coverage anytime soon. Continue reading
Oct 22 In tracking outbreaks of food poisoning, can Yelp help? By Barbara Feder Ostrov, Kaiser Health News When an outbreak of Shigella -- a bacteria closely related to Salmonella -- at a San Jose, Calif. seafood restaurant sickened dozens of people last weekend, Yelp reviewers were on the case, right alongside public health officials. Continue reading
Oct 21 Watch 8:17 This search engine could help unlock autism's secrets By PBS News Hour Scientists have long known that genetics play a role in autism, but now they may be able to actually pinpoint the specific gene variants, which could help doctors diagnose and treat the neurodevelopmental disorder from birth. Special correspondent Jackie Judd… Continue watching
Oct 21 23andMe returns with modified, FDA-approved genetic tests By Joshua Barajas Nearly two years after the Food and Drug Administration barred its only product from sale, 23andMe announced Wednesday that it can market its health-related genetic tests again. Continue reading
Oct 20 Watch 6:07 In treating schizophrenia, a balancing act between drug and talk therapy By PBS News Hour More than 2 million Americans have schizophrenia, a chronic brain disorder that can causes hallucinations, delusions, memory problems and depression. A new landmark study finds that high levels of potent antipsychotic drugs is not as effective a treatment as lower… Continue watching
Oct 20 Watch 6:30 How to make sense of the new mammogram guidelines By PBS News Hour The American Cancer Society has revised its mammogram guidelines, recommending that women with an average risk of cancer start screenings at age 45, not 40. Judy Woodruff examines the guidelines and the debate with Dr. Richard Wender of the American… Continue watching
Oct 19 Why some prescription drugs are so expensive By Julie Appleby, Kaiser Health News The news last month that Turing Pharmaceuticals had raised the price of a drug by 5,000 percent renewed a public conversation about how drug prices are set in the U.S. Continue reading
Oct 18 Watch 1:55 Organizers scrap viral tests of Rio's sewage-filled waters ahead of Olympics By PBS News Hour The organizers of the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, said this week they do not plan to test the human sewage-laden waterways that will be home to aquatic events for viruses that athletes fear could make them… Continue watching
Oct 16 What a year of tracking my sleep taught me about sleep By Hari Sreenivasan It's 3:45 a.m. as I write this. More than half of Americans surveyed this spring report very good or good sleep quality. Not me. Depending on when you ask, I'd probably fall into the 36 percent who rate their… Continue reading
Oct 16 Dementia also takes toll on unpaid caregivers, study shows By Michelle Andrews, Kaiser Health News Unpaid caregivers and family members spend more than 100 hours a month, on average, assisting elderly people with dementia who live in the community and not in residential care or nursing homes, according to a new study. The time commitment… Continue reading