An article that appeared in The Telegraph today announced the release of medical records documenting World War I plastic surgery operations on wounded British soldiers. Although …
Month: July 2012
Mining medical discoveries from a mountain of ones and zeroes
Kilo, mega, giga, tera, peta, exa, zetta, yotta - that's a lotta. Add three zeroes for each term separated by commas, and, next thing you …
A story of a burst appendix and its owner who lived
What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, stand a little taller, right? Common Health blog begins a narrative post on one woman's burst-appendix survival with …
Report shows number of uninsured American women has increased in last decade
A new report from the Commonwealth Fund shows that a growing number of women in the United States lack medical insurance and examines the differences …
Federal report shows good news for babies' health
U.S. preterm births and infant mortality rates are declining, according to a newly-released federal report that tracks children's health. The report, called America's Children in …
Sci-fi writer Vernor Vinge on health
Growing up, a lot of my friends were into Star Trek. They read Heinlein, Clarke and Bradbury. (I, on the other hand, liked reading plays …
Is extreme distance running healthy or harmful?
Recent research has called into question the health benefits of regularly running for long periods of time, such as what's done by ultra-marathoners and serial marathon …
Research suggests potential cause of HIV-associated dementia and depression
Symptoms of depression and dementia among HIV patients could be attributed to the viruses ability to kill off neurons in the brain, according to a …
New crowdfunding sites apply Kickstarter model to health and medicine
Scientists looking for for research funding and health-care entrepreneurs seeking venture funding may now have two new options: Medstartr and IAMScientist. The recently launched startups …
Doctors tackling child hunger during the summer
For most kids, summer equals vacations, fun and a break from school. But for children in low-income communities like East Palo Alto, Calif. - many of …
Can exercise and meditation prevent cold and flu?
It's a badge of honor for me that I survived 23 years of blustery cold Wisconsin winters, and that even long icy, snowy walks didn't …
Pain experts speculate on purpose of Dark Knight villain’s mask
In some households, including mine, the excitement over the upcoming release of The Dark Knight Rises has clearly eclipsed Olympics mania. That's why a Huffington …
Study finds phobias may speed biological aging
As if phobias weren't scary enough, new research finds that having intense phobic anxiety may speed up the biological aging process in middle-aged and older …
A call to fix unregulated health markets
An article (subscription required) in the latest issue of Nature provides an in-depth look at the prevalence of unregulated health markets in developing countries. Problems within these …
In people born deaf, auditory cortex takes on touch and vision, study finds
New research has found that in people who have been deaf since birth, the brain's primary auditory cortex, normally used for hearing, can process touch …
When medications cause severe obesity
Many Americans could be at risk of developing drug-induced obesity (also known as iatrogenic obesity) as a result of taking certain medications, according to John …