Election stories made up the bulk of the health care news this week. Other great gems and intriguing developments surfaced, though, so let’s get to it.
Utah’s Tough New DUI Law Brings Controversy
Utah will become the first state to make it illegal to drive with a blood alcohol level of .05 or higher, rather than the .08 standard that every other state.
The bacteria that live in and on us: Both friends and foes
Much like Pig Pen in the comic strip Peanuts, we actually carry around a cloud of bacteria in the air surrounding us.
The app will see you now?
As the number of mobile health apps surged to a record 325,000 in 2017, app performance is going largely unpoliced.
Health Care Tops Guns, Economy As Voters’ Top Issue
Seven in 10 people list health care as “very important” as they make their voting choices, eclipsing economy, gun policy, immigration and foreign policy.
Mysterious Polio-Like Illness Baffles Experts
A spike in the number of children with a rare neurological disease that causes polio-like symptoms –acute flaccid paralysis–has officials across scrambling.
How Fentanyl Changes the Opioid Equation
With lethal amounts of fentanyl showing up in heroin and other drugs throughout the country, active drug users are at a greater risk of dying than ever before
States Act To Safeguard Young Cancer Patients’ Chances To Have Children
Health insurance doesn’t typically cover fertility preservation care, so patients and their families may be deterred by the cost.
Should we edit the genomes of human embryos?
Surveys show that the public are optimistic about genome editing for curing diseases, but there can also be a lack of trust about how this technology will be used.
Food Makers Failing to Fortify Corn Masa To Halt Birth Defects,
Only 10% of corn masa flour and no soft corn tortillas–staples in the Hispanic diet– contained folic acid, which can help prevent devastating birth defects.
Drugmakers Funnel Millions To Lawmakers; A Few Dozen Get $100,000-Plus
Since the beginning of last year, 34 lawmakers have each received more than $100,000 from pharmaceutical companies.
Many supplements tainted with drugs, study
Many of these products contain unapproved and unregulated pharmaceutically active ingredients, a new study finds, posing “a serious public health concern.”
Who Knew? Life Begins (Again) At 65
Age 65 is when many of us realize that we’re mortal.It’s when we ask: How can I be smart about investing my remaining decades wisely?
Health ‘must reads’ of the week
Top stories from this week on health, health care and health policy.
Sloan Kettering Cancer Researchers Correct the Record by Revealing Company Ties
Top researchers at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center have filed at least six corrections with medical journals recently, divulging financial relationships with health care companies that they did not previously disclose.