Health & Safety

New HIV Cases Spotlight Adult Film Industry's Testing System

7:49pm September 10, 2013

by Mandalit del Barco

Adult film production in California is now suspended after a number of performers tested positive for HIV. Though news of the cases may leave some performers feeling vulnerable, the industry's trade group says its response shows that the system works.

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A sign in a TV ad welcomes Californians to insurance coverage.

Health Insurance Ads Range From Weighty To Whimsical

6:05pm September 10, 2013

by Stephanie O'Neill

States are taking very different marketing tacks to get residents to sign up for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act. In their own ways, they're trying hard to make insurance appealing to uninsured young people.

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Cooking on gas and electric stoves can create indoor air pollution. The best way to avoid it is to buy a good range hood that vents outside, experts say.

Fixing Stove Hoods To Keep Pollution Out Of The Kitchen

5:22pm September 10, 2013

by Lauren Sommer

Range hoods are designed to capture the pollutants from your stove, but many models are not effective and it's hard for consumers to know how good a hood is. But researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab are developing a new standardized test that manufacturers can use to rate their range hoods.

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Strenuous mental exercise like reading difficult books, solving tricky math problems — or, maybe, playing the right video game — can help keep a healthy brain sharp, research suggests.

Multitasking After 60: Video Game Boosts Focus, Mental Agility

5:22pm September 10, 2013

by Jon Hamilton

The aging brain may be more flexible than we thought, a study of older adults now suggests. After playing a racing car video game an hour a day, thrice weekly for a month, adults age 60 and over were better at multitasking than untrained 20-year-olds.

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Members of the Bay Area Association of Disabled Sailors sail every weekend near San Francisco's Pier 40. The all-volunteer group serves people with a range of physical, developmental and mental disabilities.

Sailors With Disabilities Find Freedom On The Water

5:21pm September 10, 2013

by Emily Green

Every week, a group of people with a range of disabilities hits San Francisco Bay. They sail using specially rigged boats; one woman controls her boat using only her chin. Sailing offers a sense of independence for the participants, some of whom are confined to wheelchairs while on land.

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Samsung's new Galaxy Gear smartwatch marks a new generation of wearable devices.

Smartwatch Is Next Step In 'Quantified Self' Life-Logging

5:20pm September 10, 2013

by Steve Henn

Smartwatches are capturing imaginations because of what they can measure about their wearers. A watch touches your skin, so it can take your pulse, measure your temperature and record the quality of your sleep.

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Sheri Fink's first book, War Hospital: A True Story of Surgery and Survival, followed medical professionals under siege during the genocide in Srebrenica, Bosnia-Herzegovina.

During Katrina, 'Memorial' Doctors Chose Who Lived, Who Died

7:08am September 10, 2013

With waters rising and their hospital on the verge of losing power, Memorial Medical Center staff were faced with an ethical question: Who to save first? Sheri Fink reconstructs their decisions — from hastening patients' deaths to evacuating the sickest last — in Five Days at Memorial.

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Tea Party Won't Let Congress Forget Obamacare Issues

7:08am September 10, 2013

by Don Gonyea

Tea Party Patriots are making a push for Congress to defund the new health care law as part of debates over the budget and funding the federal government. On Capitol Hill Tuesday, Tea Party activists have scheduled an afternoon gathering to rally support for cutting off funding for the health law often referred to as Obamacare.

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At the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan, many families struggle to get clean water, food and health services.

Humanitarian Aid Agencies Brace For Fallout From Syrian Strikes

11:04am September 09, 2013

by Jason Beaubien

Millions of Syrians have poured into refugee camps, where food, water and health services are scarce. As the U.S. prepares for possible military action, aid agencies are preparing for thousands more people to flee and worsen the humanitarian crisis.

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Researchers followed 300 sets of twins in Malawi for the first three years of their life. In many cases, only one twin developed severe malnutrition, while the other remained healthier.

Gut Microbes May Play Deadly Role In Malnutrition

10:44am September 09, 2013

by Dan Charles

The bacteria that live in humans' guts influence weight gain and health. By studying twins in Malawi, scientists have found that changes in this microbial community may also turn malnutrition into a fatal condition.

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