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Autism risks detailed in children of older mothers

AP - MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2010 3:30 P.M.

A woman's chance of having a child with autism increase substantially as she ages, but the risk may be less for older dads than previously suggested, a new study analyzing more than 5 million births found....

Debate in US over blood from newborn safety tests

AP - MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2010 1:34 P.M.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A critical safety net for babies - that heelprick of blood taken from every newborn in the U.S. - is facing an ethics attack....

Ethics debate over blood from newborn safety tests

AP - MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2010 1:09 P.M.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A critical safety net for babies - that heelprick of blood taken from every newborn - is facing an ethics attack....

UK's Brown vows more cancer care as race heats up

AP - MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2010 10:08 A.M.

LONDON (AP) -- You know an election is coming when British politicians suddenly promise sweeping improvements to the National Health Service, a simultaneous source of national pride and worry....

Bad malaria pills in Africa raise resistance fears

AP - MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2010 6:43 A.M.

High rates of the most effective type of malaria-fighting drugs sold in three African countries are poor quality - including nearly half the pills sampled in Senegal - raising fears of increased drug resistance that could wipe out the last weapon left to battle a disease that kills 1 million people each year, according to a U.S. report released Monday....

300 people diagnosed with mumps in suburban NY

AP - SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2010 5:55 P.M.

MONSEY, N.Y. (AP) -- More than 300 people have been diagnosed with the mumps in suburban New York as the nation's largest outbreak of the disease in years spreads....

Is the US swine flu epidemic over?

AP - FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2010 2:55 P.M.

ATLANTA (AP) -- If the U.S. swine flu epidemic isn't over, it certainly looks as if it's on its last legs. While federal health officials are not ready to declare the threat has passed and the outbreak has run its course, they did report Friday that for the fourth week in a row, no states had widespread flu activity. U.S. cases have been declining since late October....

2 stores pull necklaces on toxic cadmium concern

AP - THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2010 3:40 P.M.

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The teen fashion chain Aeropostale and outlet stores of upscale Saks Fifth Avenue have pulled from shelves necklaces that an environmental group's tests showed have high levels of the toxic metal cadmium....

Much higher tritium levels found at nuclear plant

AP - THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2010 3:36 P.M.

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) -- A radioactive substance recently found in groundwater monitoring wells at a Vermont nuclear plant has turned up again at levels more than nine times those previously reported and more than 37 times higher than a federal safe drinking water limit, officials said Thursday....

Gov't moving into central role in health care

AP - THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2010 8:29 A.M.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Government is poised to become king of the hill in America's vast health care system, with or without President Barack Obama's planned redo, according an economic report released Thursday....

Healthy baby campaign uses texts to reach mothers

AP - WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2010 8:32 P.M.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Expectant mothers are getting a new tool to help keep themselves and their babies healthy: pregnancy tips sent directly to their cell phones....

Study: Vegetative brains show signs of awareness

AP - WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2010 4:07 P.M.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Scientists have detected glimmers of awareness in some vegetative brain-injury patients and have even communicated with one of them - findings that push the boundaries of how to assess and care for such people....

Report: 40 percent of cancers are preventable

AP - WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2010 8:22 A.M.

LONDON (AP) -- About 40 percent of cancers could be prevented if people stopped smoking and overeating, limited their alcohol, exercised regularly and got vaccines targeting cancer-causing infections, experts say....

Glaxo CEO: Time to diversify, help poor countries

AP - TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2010 1:56 P.M.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Andrew Witty, who took over as GlaxoSmithKline PLC's chief executive in May 2008, has been remaking the company from a pure pharmaceutical business to a diverse healthcare conglomerate, a strategy most rivals now are pursuing....

Gas drilling in Appalachia yields a foul byproduct

AP - TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2010 9:57 A.M.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) -- Energy companies racing to unlock a huge Appalachian gas reserve are facing pressure to keep polluted drilling water out of public waterways....

Medicare Advantage plans offer maze of choices

AP - TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2010 8:04 A.M.

A dizzying array of choices awaits those searching for a Medicare Advantage plan....

UK medical journal retracts flawed vaccine study

AP - TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2010 7:56 A.M.

LONDON (AP) -- A major British medical journal on Tuesday retracted a flawed study linking the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine to autism and bowel disease....

Experiment takes aim at genetic learning disorder

AP - TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2010 12:45 A.M.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A pill to ease a type of mental retardation? An experiment is under way to develop one, aimed at a genetic disorder that might unravel some of the mysteries of autism along the way....

Success seen with experimental abstinence program

AP - MONDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2010 3 P.M.

CHICAGO (AP) -- An experimental abstinence-only program without a moralistic tone can delay teens from having sex, a provocative study found....

Fish oil shows promise in preventing psychosis

AP - MONDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2010 1 P.M.

CHICAGO (AP) -- Fish oil pills may be able to save some young people with signs of mental illness from descending into schizophrenia, according to a preliminary but first-of-its-kind study....

Girl's odyssey shows challenge of fighting obesity

AP - MONDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2010 1:40 A.M.

CHICAGO (AP) -- Paris Woods is hardly a poster child for the obesity epidemic. Lining up dripping wet with kids on her swim team, she's a blend of girlish chunkiness and womanly curves....

Gates makes $10 billion vaccines pledge

AP - FRIDAY, JANUARY 29, 2010 8:08 A.M.

DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) -- The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will donate $10 billion over the next decade to research new vaccines and bring them to the world's poorest countries, the Microsoft co-founder and his wife said Friday....

New morning-after pill works for up to 5 days

AP - THURSDAY, JANUARY 28, 2010 4:01 P.M.

LONDON (AP) -- A new type of morning-after pill is more effective than the most widely used drug at preventing pregnancies in women who had unprotected sex and also works longer, for up to five days, a new study says....

Michelle Obama makes obesity campaign personal

AP - THURSDAY, JANUARY 28, 2010 2:44 P.M.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) -- First lady Michelle Obama framed her national campaign against childhood obesity in intensely personal terms Thursday, relating that her own daughters were starting to get off-track before the family's pediatrician gave her a wake-up call and warned her to watch it....

Increased patient cost-sharing may hurt elderly

AP - WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 27, 2010 2 P.M.

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Higher Medicare copays, sometimes just a few dollars more, led to fewer doctors visits and to more and longer hospital stays, a large new study reveals....

Study finds drop in age-related hearing problems

AP - WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 27, 2010 8:30 A.M.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Sweet news for baby boomers: Despite all those warnings that loud rock music would damage their ears, their generation appears to have better hearing than their parents did....

More blood pressure worry: It's linked to dementia

AP - TUESDAY, JANUARY 26, 2010 12:02 A.M.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- If the cardiologist's warnings don't scare you, consider this: Controlling blood pressure just might be the best protection yet known against dementia....

More melamine-tainted milk products found in China

AP - MONDAY, JANUARY 25, 2010 3:59 A.M.

BEIJING (AP) -- Melamine-tainted dairy products were pulled from convenience store shelves in southern China more than a year after hundreds of thousands of children had been sickened in a massive milk safety scandal, a government spokeswoman said Monday....

WHO slams swine flu critics as 'irresponsible'

AP - MONDAY, JANUARY 25, 2010 3:47 A.M.

GENEVA (AP) -- The World Health Organization has rejected as "irresponsible" allegations that swine flu is a fake pandemic....

RI company recalling 1.2M pounds of salami

AP - SATURDAY, JANUARY 23, 2010 3:41 P.M.

BURRILLVILLE, R.I. (AP) -- A Rhode Island meat company recalled 1.24 million pounds of pepper-coated salami on Saturday, after officials conducting a months-long, multistate investigation of a salmonella outbreak compared shopping receipts of those who got sick....

Smokers with cancer could quit and double survival

AP - FRIDAY, JANUARY 22, 2010 5:27 A.M.

LONDON (AP) -- People with early lung cancer who quit smoking could double their chances of surviving, a new study says....

Combat wounds not the leading cause of evacuations

AP - THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2010 4:04 P.M.

LONDON (AP) -- American soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan were more likely to be medically evacuated for health problems such as a bad back than for combat injuries, a new study says....

Study finds US birth weights inch down a bit

AP - THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2010 2:01 P.M.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- U.S. newborns are arriving a little smaller, says puzzling new Harvard research that can't explain why. Fatter mothers tend to produce heavier babies, and obesity is soaring. Yet the study of nearly 37 million births shows newborns were a bit lighter in 2005 than in 1990, ending a half-century of rising birth weights....

Gene sleuthing tracks variation in MRSA superbug

AP - THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2010 11:55 A.M.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A new kind of genetic sleuthing suggests hospital outbreaks of drug-resistant staph bacteria don't always spread from one patient to another, but that numerous people - patients, visitors or staff - bring in the deadly germ....

MS pills show promise and risk, studies say

AP - WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 20, 2010 2:08 P.M.

ATLANTA (AP) -- Tests of the first two oral drugs developed for treating multiple sclerosis show that both cut the frequency of relapses and may slow progression of the disease, but with side effects that could pose a tough decision for patients....

Experts: Sitting too much could be deadly

AP - WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 20, 2010 1:55 P.M.

LONDON (AP) -- Here's a new warning from health experts: Sitting is deadly. Scientists are increasingly warning that sitting for prolonged periods - even if you also exercise regularly - could be bad for your health. And it doesn't matter where the sitting takes place - at the office, at school, in the car or before a computer or TV - just the overall number of hours it occurs....

Heart group lists 7 essentials for heart health

AP - WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 20, 2010 2:10 A.M.

DALLAS (AP) -- Here are the seven secrets to a long life: Stay away from cigarettes. Keep a slender physique. Get some exercise. Eat a healthy diet and keep your cholesterol, blood pressure and blood sugar in check....

FDA debates tougher cancer warning on tanning beds

AP - TUESDAY, JANUARY 19, 2010 7:39 A.M.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Just as millions head to tanning beds to prepare for spring break, the Food and Drug Administration will be debating how to toughen warnings that those sunlamps pose a cancer risk....

Task force: Screen kids, obesity treatment works

AP - MONDAY, JANUARY 18, 2010 4:09 A.M.

CHICAGO (AP) -- An influential advisory panel says school-aged youngsters and teens should be screened for obesity and sent to intensive behavior treatment if they need to lose weight - a move that could transform how doctors deal with overweight children....

Health agencies call for more study on bisphenol-A

AP - FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2010 1:12 P.M.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Federal health agencies said Friday recent research shows cause for concern over the chemical bisphenol-A's potential effect on children, but more study is needed before any regulatory changes are considered....

Scientists turn stem cells into pork

AP - FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2010 10:13 A.M.

LONDON (AP) -- Call it pork in a petri dish - a technique to turn pig stem cells into strips of meat that scientists say could one day offer a green alternative to raising livestock, help alleviate world hunger, and save some pigs their bacon....

Correction: Windpipe transplant story

AP - THURSDAY, JANUARY 14, 2010 12:42 P.M.

LONDON (AP) -- In a Jan. 13 story about an innovative windpipe transplant, The Associated Press erroneously described the time frame of the injury. Linda De Croock suffered from her injury for more than 25 years, not 2 1/2 years....

UK gov't apologizes to Thalidomide victims

AP - THURSDAY, JANUARY 14, 2010 8:25 A.M.

LONDON (AP) -- The British government apologized Thursday to people who were harmed in the womb when their mothers took the anti-nausea drug Thalidomide....

Belgian doctors give injured woman a new windpipe

AP - THURSDAY, JANUARY 14, 2010 7:21 A.M.

LONDON (AP) -- For more than a quarter of a century, Linda De Croock lived with constant pain from a car accident that smashed her windpipe....

Data: US obesity rate high, but not rising

AP - WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13, 2010 2:24 P.M.

CHICAGO (AP) -- Raise a glass of diet soda: The nation's obesity rate appears to have stalled. But the latest numbers still show that more than two-thirds of adults and almost a third of kids are overweight, with no sign of improvement....

AP - WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13, 2010 2:07 P.M.

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- U.S. consumer safety chief warns parents to take cheap metal jewelry away from their children....

Study: Fast morphine treatment may prevent PTSD

AP - WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13, 2010 2:01 P.M.

Quickly giving morphine to wounded troops cuts in half the chance they will develop post-traumatic stress disorder, according to a provocative study that suggests a new strategy for preventing the psychological fallout of war....

Don't bank on weekend to make up for sleep loss

AP - WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13, 2010 12:04 P.M.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Sleeping in on Saturday after a few weeks of too little shuteye may feel refreshing, but it can give a false sense of security. New research shows chronic sleep loss cannot be cured that easily. Scientists teased apart the effects of short- and long-term sleep loss and found that the chronically sleep-deprived may function normally soon after waking up, but experience steadily slower reaction times as the day wears on, even if they had tried to catch up the previous n...

Don't bank on weekend to make up for sleep loss

AP - WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13, 2010 11 A.M.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Sleeping in on Saturday after a few weeks of too little shuteye may feel refreshing, but it can give a false sense of security....

WHO survey: Half of China's births are C-sections

AP - TUESDAY, JANUARY 12, 2010 2:34 P.M.

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) -- Nearly half of all births in China are delivered by cesarean section, the world's highest rate, according to a survey by the World Health Organization - a shift toward modernization that isn't necessarily a good thing....

Patients paying for more face time with doctors

AP - TUESDAY, JANUARY 12, 2010 2:09 P.M.

Over the counter cold-and-flu remedy: $5.99....

Health facilities, NY settle over drug-flushing

AP - TUESDAY, JANUARY 12, 2010 1:05 P.M.

NEW YORK (AP) -- New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo announced a settlement Tuesday with five health care facilities that flushed pharmaceutical waste into the New York City watersheds....

Some perks offered by 'boutique' doctor practices

AP - TUESDAY, JANUARY 12, 2010 11:44 A.M.

MDVIP Inc., of Boca Raton, Fla., helps doctors around the country set up retainer-based medical practices. These doctors charge annual fees of between $1,500 and $1,800 for patients to be on their rolls. Here are some of the benefits the company touts for the approximately 122,000 patients of the 340 doctors it works with....

Claire's pulls bracelet cited in AP cadmium report

AP - TUESDAY, JANUARY 12, 2010 11:17 A.M.

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- An international chain store says it will no longer sell a charm bracelet that lab testing reported by The Associated Press showed was laden with toxic cadmium....

Study finds UNICEF program in West Africa fails

AP - TUESDAY, JANUARY 12, 2010 6:10 A.M.

LONDON (AP) -- A UNICEF program that spent $27 million to decrease child deaths from disease in West Africa has failed, according to a new study that found a higher survival rate in some regions that weren't included in the program....

Too much flu vaccine? Shot push this week to tell

AP - TUESDAY, JANUARY 12, 2010 12:17 A.M.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- First there was too little swine flu vaccine. Now could there be way too much?...

Salt-loving mayor seeks to trim it from NYC diets

AP - MONDAY, JANUARY 11, 2010 1:03 P.M.

NEW YORK (AP) -- New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg - who is known to shake salt on his pizza - is focusing on sodium as the next unhealthy enemy in his crusade to coax people into eating better....

Report: Tackle overlooked threat of hepatitis B, C

AP - MONDAY, JANUARY 11, 2010 8:14 A.M.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- They're the overlooked viruses: Hepatitis B and C together infect three to five times more Americans than the AIDS virus does, and most don't know it....

Buckle up! Kid films getting better at safety

AP - MONDAY, JANUARY 11, 2010 4:44 A.M.

CHICAGO (AP) -- Characters in children's movies are wising up about personal safety, increasingly using seat belts, bike helmets and crosswalks, but many still aren't ideal role models, a government study found....

Toxic metal found in kids' jewelry very dangerous

AP - MONDAY, JANUARY 11, 2010 12:04 A.M.

Cadmium is a soft, whitish metal that occurs naturally in soil. It's perhaps best known as one half of rechargeable nickel-cadmium batteries, but also is used in pigments, electroplating and plastic....

Despite dangers, some get illicit silicone shots

AP - SUNDAY, JANUARY 10, 2010 7:48 P.M.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Clara Tolentino was terrified when her 43-year-old sister died last year after getting liquid silicone injections to add a bit more shape to her buttocks....

Genentech says FDA approves Actemra arthritis drug

AP - SATURDAY, JANUARY 9, 2010 2:34 P.M.

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (AP) -- Biotechnology company Genentech Inc. says the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved its new drug to treat rheumatoid arthritis....

Drug benefit expanded to 1 million more seniors

AP - FRIDAY, JANUARY 8, 2010 3:25 A.M.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- In case the prospect of nearly $4,000 in prescription assistance isn't enough to perk up low-income seniors, the government is using '60s singer Chubby Checker to publicize "the twist" in the Medicare drug program....

Restaurant food has more calories than advertised

AP - THURSDAY, JANUARY 7, 2010 9:06 P.M.

Dieters can't believe everything they read: The food at many popular chain restaurants and in the freezer section of the supermarket may contain a lot more calories than advertised....

China tainted milk problem kept secret for months

AP - THURSDAY, JANUARY 7, 2010 9:38 A.M.

BEIJING (AP) -- Chinese authorities secretly investigated a dairy for nearly a year before announcing the company had been producing milk tainted with an industrial chemical, reflecting the country's unease with the transparency needed to restore public confidence in food safety....

Anthrax outbreak in Scotland kills 6 drug addicts

AP - THURSDAY, JANUARY 7, 2010 9:01 A.M.

LONDON (AP) -- Contaminated heroin may have caused an anthrax outbreak among drug addicts in Scotland, killing six people and infecting 12 in total, health officials said Thursday....

Better antiseptic curbs post-surgery infections

AP - WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6, 2010 2 P.M.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Looks like doctors aren't the only ones who should scrub before surgery. Bathing patients with an antiseptic and squirting medicated ointment up their noses dramatically cut the rate of dangerous staph infections afterward, researchers found....

Fight against fat goes high-tech with new devices

AP - WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6, 2010 9:45 A.M.

ALHAMBRA, Calif. (AP) -- The fight against fat is going high-tech. To get an inside look at eating and exercise habits, scientists are developing wearable wireless sensors to monitor overweight and obese people as they go about their daily lives....

Weighing wellness program incentives

AP - TUESDAY, JANUARY 5, 2010 11:10 A.M.

If 2010 is the year you plan to finally drop a few pounds or snuff that smoking habit, your employer may offer incentives to make those resolutions stick or even pay off with lower health premiums....

Hunting newborn tests for super-rare gene diseases

AP - TUESDAY, JANUARY 5, 2010 5:55 A.M.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- At his first birthday, John Klor couldn't sit up on his own. A few months later, he was cruising like any healthy toddler - thanks to a special diet that's treating the North Carolina boy's mysterious disease....

Evidence lacking for special diets in autism

AP - MONDAY, JANUARY 4, 2010 5:09 A.M.

CHICAGO (AP) -- An expert panel says there's no rigorous evidence that digestive problems are more common in children with autism compared to other children, or that special diets work, contrary to claims by celebrities and vaccine naysayers....

Lessons of a weekend of free health care

AP - SATURDAY, JANUARY 2, 2010 9:19 P.M.

MAYNARDVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- The two-hour drive is done, but Hannah and Jack Hurst leave the Honda's engine running....

Report: UK drinking culture strains health system

AP - SATURDAY, JANUARY 2, 2010 11:21 A.M.

LONDON (AP) -- Just as Britons brew black coffee to cope with holiday hangovers, they are also digesting a new report that warns the country's notorious drinking culture is putting an unacceptable strain on hospitals and medical staff....

Did Americans get any healthier over past decade?

AP - THURSDAY, DECEMBER 31, 2009 10:52 A.M.

ATLANTA (AP) -- About 10 years ago the government set some lofty health goals for the nation to reach by 2010....

Solution to killer superbug found in Norway

AP - WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2009 6:04 P.M.

OSLO, Norway (AP) -- Aker University Hospital is a dingy place to heal. The floors are streaked and scratched. A light layer of dust coats the blood pressure monitors. A faint stench of urine and bleach wafts from a pile of soiled bedsheets dropped in a corner....

Studies spotlight problems in FDA device approvals

AP - TUESDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2009 8:24 P.M.

CHICAGO (AP) -- Two new studies find shortfalls in the Food and Drug Administration's approval process for heart devices such as pacemakers and stents....

Pressure rises to stop antibiotics in agriculture

AP - TUESDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2009 4:49 A.M.

FRANKENSTEIN, Mo. (AP) -- The mystery started the day farmer Russ Kremer got between a jealous boar and a sow in heat....

Now hear this: Swim-proof hearing aids to get test

AP - MONDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2009 2:03 P.M.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- They're not your grandpa's hearing aids....

Health bills nudge US on long-term care insurance

AP - MONDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2009 11:08 A.M.

CHICAGO (AP) -- Most people don't buy long-term care insurance. They simply don't want to think about moving into an assisted living center or hiring a stranger to bathe them....

New form of malaria threatens Thai-Cambodia border

AP - MONDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2009 5:34 A.M.

PAILIN, Cambodia (AP) -- O'treng village doesn't look like the epicenter of anything....

China plant shuts after children poisoned by lead

AP - MONDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2009 1:41 A.M.

BEIJING (AP) -- Chinese authorities Monday started administering health checks on all children living near a battery factory in the south of the country and closed the plant after more than 40 children were found with lead poisoning....

First case of highly drug-resistant TB found in US

AP - SUNDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2009 5:14 A.M.

LANTANA, Fla. (AP) -- It started with a cough, an autumn hack that refused to go away....

Little boy's big legacy teaches others how to live

AP - THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2009 6:23 A.M.

CHICAGO (AP) -- The disarming smile of a 4-year-old boy with a buzz cut brightens an otherwise drab newspaper page, where whole lives are summed up in three inches of tiny newsprint....

Study: Vaccine means more holiday hugs, fewer bugs

AP - WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2009 2:04 P.M.

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- More hugs, fewer bugs. Holiday visits have become safer for grandparents thanks to a childhood vaccine that has dramatically curbed infections spread by kids, a new study finds....

Study: Swine flu poses a threat to new moms

AP - WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2009 2:03 P.M.

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Swine flu is not only dangerous to pregnant women, but it's a threat to new mothers too, the first study to document this risk shows. An analysis of pregnant women and new mothers who were hospitalized with swine flu in California found that those who had a baby in the previous two weeks were at higher risk of severe flu complications....

Experts: NY dog is 1st in nation with swine flu

AP - TUESDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2009 2:10 P.M.

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (AP) -- A dog in suburban New York is the first in the nation confirmed to be carrying the same strain of swine flu that is infecting humans, experts said Tuesday....

AP Enterprise: Feds mull regulating drugs in water

AP - TUESDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2009 1:14 P.M.

Federal regulators under President Barack Obama have sharply shifted course on long-standing policy toward pharmaceutical residues in the nation's drinking water, taking a critical first step toward regulating some of the contaminants while acknowledging they could threaten human health....

'Invisible bracelet' for emergency health alerts?

AP - TUESDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2009 7:32 A.M.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Emergency health alerts for the Facebook generation? The nation's ambulance crews are pushing a virtual medical ID system to rapidly learn a patient's health history during a crisis - and which can immediately text-message loved ones that the person is headed for a hospital....

Maine to consider cell phone cancer warning

AP - MONDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2009 1:11 P.M.

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) -- A Maine legislator wants to make the state the first to require cell phones to carry warnings that they can cause brain cancer, although there is no consensus among scientists that they do and industry leaders dispute the claim....