NPR Health Blog

FDA Commisioner Backs Law For Safer Food

By Maggie Mertens Spinach, tomatoes and peanut butter that sickened people across the country in recent years put a spotlight on tainted food as a growing public health problem. The disease outbreaks also revealed gaps in the Food and Drug Administration's...

Published Thu, Oct 22 2009 1:45 PM by NPR Blogs: NPR Health

Filed under: FDA, Food Safety

CDC Chief 'Frustrated' By Swine Flu Vaccine Shortage

By Maggie Mertens The Centers for Disease Control is just as unhappy as the rest of us about the tight supply of swine flu vaccine, we heard today. Nurses in Indianapolis prepare the swine flu vaccine for another overwhelmed clinic.(Darron Cummings/AP...

Published Fri, Oct 23 2009 1:51 PM by NPR Blogs: NPR Health

Filed under: Swine Flu (H1N1)

Stimulus Funds Could Widen Digital Health Divide

By Christopher Weaver Federal stimulus spending meant to bolster the uptake of electronic medical records could wind up shortchanging hospitals that treat more poor patients, deepening a "digital divide" between the rich and the impoverished...

Published Mon, Oct 26 2009 10:25 AM by NPR Blogs: NPR Health

Filed under: Hospitals, Electronic medical records

Heart Cells Made From Stem Cells Speed Up Research On Rare Disease

Israeli scientists have used stem cells to grow heart cells from patients with a rare heart disease called long QT syndrome. They also tested a variety of drugs on the cells, which they hope will help them develop new treatments for the syndrome. Read...

Published Tue, Jan 18 2011 12:51 PM by NPR Blogs: Shots - Health News Blog

Congressional Health Debate Captured In Clouds

Nothing beats word clouds for a quick overview of what Democrats and Republicans said in the debate about repealing federal health overhaul. Read More...

Published Wed, Jan 19 2011 11:51 AM by NPR Blogs: Shots - Health News Blog

Annals Of Weight-Loss Gimmicks: From Bile Beans To Obesity Soap

People have been worrying about their weight far longer than you might have imagined. A recent event highlighted some fads through the ages, but it also revealed a diet from the 1860s that seemed to work. Read More...

Published Thu, Jan 20 2011 2:02 PM by NPR Blogs: Shots - Health News Blog

How About Some Viper Venom Con Queso On Your Barrel O' Fun Chips?

Sometimes the names of foods or companies involved in product recalls are as attention-grabbing as the reasons for the actions. Read More...

Published Fri, Jan 21 2011 12:36 PM by NPR Blogs: Shots - Health News Blog

Senate To Include Public Option In Health Overhaul Bill

By Scott Hensley Well, the public option just got another lease on life. Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada says the public option is back on. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) --> Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada now...

Published Mon, Oct 26 2009 1:55 PM by NPR Blogs: NPR Health

Filed under: Health Overhaul, Insurance

Poisoned Harvard Scientists Say Spiked Coffee Was No Accident

By Scott Hensley Spend a little time in a biology lab, and you figure out pretty quickly nothing much gets done without using chemicals that could hurt you. But nobody bargains on someone putting poison in the office espresso machine, as apparently happened...

Published Tue, Oct 27 2009 6:15 AM by NPR Blogs: NPR Health

Filed under: Research

BPA At Work Raised Risk Of Impotence, Sexual Problems

By Scott Hensley If the plastic additive bisphenol A is dangerous to health, you'd expect to see problems in people who work with lots of the stuff. Chinese smokestacks in winter. (Greg Baker/AP, file) (Greg Baker/AP, file) --> So Kaiser Permanente...

Published Wed, Nov 11 2009 5:51 AM by NPR Blogs: Shots - NPR's Health Blog

Filed under: Food Safety

Sick-Leave Legislation Gets A Boost From H1N1

By Maggie Mertens Mandatory paid sick-leave might have gotten thrown out of the House health overhaul bill, but Congressional Democrats haven't given up yet. They still have a chance to get legislation passed -- by tying it to swine flu. Democratic...

Published Wed, Nov 11 2009 1:32 PM by NPR Blogs: Shots - NPR's Health Blog

Filed under: Swine Flu (H1N1), Congressional activity, Public Health

Google Has A Plan For Safer, More Useful Online Drug Ads

By Scott Hensley When Google talks about online ads, everybody listens. So check out the Internet giant's idea for rejiggering online promotion of prescription drugs to pass muster with the Food and Drug Administration. Here's the way Google would...

Published Thu, Nov 12 2009 2:04 PM by NPR Blogs: Shots - NPR's Health Blog

Filed under: FDA, Pharmaceuticals

In Memory Of Gene Cohen, Visionary On Aging

By Joseph Shapiro One of our favorite thinkers about what it means to grow old died the other day. Geriatric psychiatrist Dr.Gene Cohen enjoyed debunking the myth that aging means an inevitable decline of mind and body. Gene Cohen, geriatric psychiatrist...

Published Fri, Nov 13 2009 6:57 AM by NPR Blogs: Shots - Health News

Filed under: Obits

Alcohol-Based Hand Sanitizers Fight Flu Best

By Deborah Franklin There was a time, not long ago, when squirting gelatinous goo into your hands after every cough and before every meal would have seemed absurd. No more. Thanks to the flu pandemic, hand sanitizer has made its way into nearly every...

Published Fri, Nov 13 2009 2:30 PM by NPR Blogs: Shots - Health News