Health Headlines
Keep Kids Away From Laundry Detergent Packs
Single-use packages of laundry detergent are causing problems for kids who eat them. There have been at least 250 cases of illness from the packs reported to poison control centers across the country already this year.
Obama, Romney On Health Care: So Close, Yet So Far
Health care has become one of the starkest contrasts between President Obama and Republican rival Mitt Romney in the 2012 campaign. And that's surprising, given that once upon a time they both came up with similar plans to fix the system.
Backers Of Cost-Free Coverage For Birth Control Fault Legal Challenges
Defenders of an Obama administration rule requiring most health insurance plans to offer access to contraception without copays say there's no validity to arguments it violates religious freedom.
Tick Talk: Lyme Disease Under The Microscope
Banking giant JPMorgan's multibillion-dollar trading loss is blamed on an executive's absence due to Lyme disease. And a mild winter has some scientists predicting a busy tick season ahead. A panel of experts discuss how the infection is contracted, why it's often misdiagnosed and the most effective treatment options.
MIT Builds A Needle-Free Drug Injector
Jet injectors have been delivering drugs and vaccines without needles since the Star Trek era, but never caught on widely in real-world medicine. A device developed at MIT promises to change that, with computer-controlled precision and an injection as inconspicuous as a mosquito's jab.
Breaking Out Of A Web Of Fear
Reporting in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers write that a brief therapy session with people who had a lifelong phobia of spiders resulted in lasting changes to brain areas that process fear. A panel of experts discuss the results, debilitating fear and ways to overcome it.
Humans, The World's 'Superomnivores'
In his book The Omnivorous Mind: Our Evolving Relationship with Food, neuroanthropologist John S. Allen discusses the history of human eating, from foraged foods on the savannah to four-star meals cooked by celebrity chefs, and discusses why crunchy foods like tempura and fried chicken have universal appeal.
'Ripped Reverend' Finds Joy In Bodybuilding
Amy Richter was slathered up in oil and wearing a sparkling red bikini when she competed in her first bodybuilding contest a few years ago. That was quite a change for an Episcopal priest. Host Michel Martin speaks with the "Ripped Reverend" about keeping the body and spirit strong.
Does Race Affect Your Hospital Stay?
NPR's "Sick in America" survey found that a lot of Americans are unhappy with the healthcare system. Among those who had a recent serious healthcare experience, nearly half said that a lack of cultural understanding played a big role in the problems with U.S. healthcare quality. Host Michel Martin talks with NPR's Richard Knox and Dr. Kavita Patel of the Brookings Institution.
VIDEO: Ratings aim 'to improve NHS care'
Patients in England will be asked if they would recommend the hospital they were treated in to friends and family, to help improve nursing care.
VIDEO: On board London's air ambulance
Destination London's Paddy O'Connell finds out how London's Air Ambulance Service will provide critical care during the Olympics.
Need A Nurse? You May Have To Wait
A new poll finds 34 percent of patients hospitalized for at least one night in the past year said "nurses weren't available when needed or didn't respond quickly to requests for help." We asked nurses why that might be. Stories poured in about being overworked, comparing the job to "spinning plates."
VIDEO: ECB scoops prize for work on helmet safety
The England & Wales Cricket Board wins health award
Patients' ratings 'to boost care'
A new NHS patient rating system - known as the "friends and family test" - is to be introduced to help improve nursing care in England.
Male 'contraceptive gene' found
It may be possible to develop a new form of male contraceptive after researchers in Edinburgh identified a critical gene for the production of healthy sperm.
Health Law's Downfall Could Put GOP In Odd Spot
Republicans have rallied for repeal of the Affordable Care Act since the very day it passed. But now the GOP has a problem: Some provisions in the law are very popular with voters. If the Supreme Court strikes the law down, choosing whether to try to revive those parts could be difficult.
A Meat Mea Culpa: What Went Wrong With 'Pink Slime'
Meat processors blame social media and their own lack of transparency for the "pink slime" storm. . But will consumers ever trust the industry when it comes to understanding how the food processing system works?
Doctors Look Likely To Resist Change On PSA Tests
Johns Hopkins researcher round that nearly three-quarters of primary care doctors they surveyed said their patients expected regular PSA screening to continue. The findings suggest there will be
Changing Hospitals To Treat Patients Better
A recent poll found only half of people who have spent time in a hospital in the past year were very satisfied with their care. The rest complained about mistakes, poor communication and unresponsive nurses. But to better serve patients, some hospitals are changing the way they do business.
MSPs pass Scots booze price plan
Scotland will become the first place in the UK to introduce minimum drink pricing, after MSPs passed the plan at parliament.
Call For Emergency Action On Polio Eradication
Afghanistan, Nigeria and Pakistan are the only three countries left where poliovirus remains endemic. But work to put the paralyzing virus on the ropes there is in danger of failing. The setbacks have spurred a renewed focus on defeating the disease.
Rabies woman turned away from A&E
A woman with rabies twice visited an A&E unit in Kent before she was diagnosed and admitted to a London hospital, it emerges.
'Emergency plan' to beat polio
Tackling polio has entered "emergency mode" according to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative after "explosive" outbreaks in countries previously free of the disease.
Q&A: Rabies
As a case is confirmed in London, how common is it?
Analysis: Defeating polio
Why is the disease not a thing of the past?
NHS 'paid £17 for pizza base'
Two prescription gluten-free pizza bases can cost the NHS as much as £35, BBC Newsnight has learned.
Rabies case confirmed in London
A London patient is confirmed as having rabies after being bitten by a dog in South Asia, the Health Protection Agency says.
MPs call for change to smear test
The government is risking the lives of women under 25 in England by not screening them for cervical cancer, according to two MPs.
VIDEO: Push for polio eradication
Member states of the WHO, meeting in Geneva, are expected to declare polio a global public health emergency, and will launch one last push to finally eradicate the disease.
Virtual patient under the knife
How a giant touchscreen is teaching surgeons
C-section 'link' to child obesity
Babies who are delivered through Caesarean section are twice as likely to become obese than those born traditionally, US research suggests.
Calcium pills pose 'heart risk'
People who take calcium supplements could be increasing their risk of having a heart attack, according to researchers in Germany.
NHS trusts 'ration eye surgery'
A growing number of primary care trusts are placing restrictions on access to eye surgery, figures obtained by campaigners show.
VIDEO: How to dissect a digital cadaver
Surgeon Aimee Di Marco demonstrates how a digital cadaver on a touchscreen dissection table can be used to teach students and plan operations.
By Putting Patients First, Hospital Tries To Make Care More Personal
Fauquier Hospital in Warrenton, Va., offers services not usually found in your average hospital. Not only is every one of its patient rooms a private one, it offers food cooked and delivered to order, and hand massages. But experts say it's the actual involvement of patients and families in their own care that sets it apart.
Will Men And Their Doctors Change Course On PSA Tests?
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force said the harms, such as false alarms and unnecessary surgeries that leave some men impotent and incontinent, outweigh the benefits of routine PSA blood testing for prostate cancer. But it's far from clear that doctors and their patients will heed the advice.
Many Americans Say Doing Taxes Is Easier Than Eating Right
More than 70 percent of respondents say they've made efforts to cut back on fats, added sugars and salt, they're trying to eat more whole grains, and they're trying to cut calories by drinking water, and low -or zero- calorie beverages.
Hospital 'failed' overdose babies
There were "failings" in the care of premature twins who died after being given an overdose of morphine, a coroner rules.
VIDEO: Overdose babies 'died in my arms'
The mother of two-day-old twins has described the moment they died in her arms after being given a morphine overdose at Stafford Hospital.
Compensating Organ Donors Becomes 'Talk Of The Nation'
There's a persistent shortage of organs for transplantation in this country, and it's getting worse. Federal law bans financial incentives for organ donations. Is it time to reconsider? Some calls and emails from listeners illuminate the range of opinions on the controversial subject.
New clot drug for heart patients
Hundreds of thousands of heart patients could benefit from new blood thinning drugs to cut their risk of stroke, guidelines recommend
Happy Feet: Tips For Healthier Running
Have you thought about switching to barefoot running? New York Times exercise columnist Gretchen Reynolds did — and promptly injured herself. She details what she did wrong — and how to keep your own feet healthy — in her new book, The First 20 Minutes.
Hospital shake-up Senedd protest
Hundreds of campaigners demand protection for services at Prince Phillip Hospital in Llanelli in a protest on the steps of the Welsh assembly.
AUDIO: What happens in an abortion clinic
BBC Radio 5 live's Victoria Derbyshire went to an abortion clinic to hear what women who want abortions go through.
Clot drug 'helps stroke recovery'
Stroke victims given a clot-busting drug after an attack recover better than those who do not receive the treatment, an Edinburgh study suggests.
Dangerous Gut Bacteria Move Outside Hospitals, Infect Kids
Clostridium difficile is a nasty bacterial infection that used to strike mainly older hospitalized patients taking antibiotics. In findings presented at a conference this week, Mayo Clinic researchers say it's now cropping up in communities, and infecting children.
Alert over allergy injector fault
People using a certain type of adrenaline injector used to treat severe allergic reactions are being told to consult their doctors after a fault was found with the product.
Health Insurance Cutbacks Squeeze The Insured
Health insurance has been changing dramatically. Even people with insurance are paying thousands of dollars out of pocket before their insurance kicks in. And when that happens, insurance picks up less than it used to — often a lot less.
Financial advice call over cancer
A charity calls for all cancer sufferers to be given financial advice when diagnosed with the disease, as it says people are often unprepared for the cost.
Lab grows heart muscle from skin
Scientists in Israel say they have managed to turn patients' own skin cells into heart muscle in the lab.
