Month: June 2013

By Genevra Pittman NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Women taking a combination of hormone therapy and calcium and vitamin D tablets after menopause were less likely to fracture their hip than those not taking hormones or supplements, in a new study. “We always tell women to take calcium and vitamin D,” said Dr. Michele Curtis, a women’s health researcher from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. “At the end of the day what this study really says is, what you thought was a good thing to do really is a good thing to do. …

Two New Jersey police officers helped revive a newborn moments after he was born on a front lawn in Barnegat to a woman who said she didn’t realize she was pregnant. According to the Barnegat Police Department, two officers arrived just after 21-year-old Elizabeth Whitehead…        

PHOENIX (AP) — Tigers at the Phoenix Zoo are getting frozen fish snacks. Temporary cooling stations are popping up to welcome the homeless and elderly. And airlines are monitoring the soaring temperatures to make sure it's safe to fly as the western U.S. falls into the grip of a dangerous heat wave.

By Kathryn Doyle NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Fewer small children have been sickened or died from accidentally taking cough and cold medicines meant only for older ages, according to a new study of the effects of recent label changes on these over the counter products. High doses of antihistamines can cause coma, seizure and abnormal heart rhythms in kids, and an overdose of the pain reliever acetaminophen can cause liver failure, according to the study’s lead author Dr. Maryann Mazer-Amirshahi of the department of emergency medicine at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. …

Goodbye Snickers and hello whole grains. As reported by CNN, new federal guidelines released Thursday will require school vending machines to provide healthier snacks for students. Sugary beverages like sports drinks will be replaced with lower-calorie options like bottled water. Foods must be at least 50 percent whole grains, or list fruits, vegetables, or a protein source as the first ingredient. The new guidelines will take effect July 2014.

By Mark Felsenthal and Jeff Mason ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama paid tribute to anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela as he flew to South Africa on Friday but played down expectations of a meeting with the ailing black leader during an Africa tour promoting democracy and food security. White House officials hope Obama's three-nation tour of Africa – his first substantial visit to the continent since taking office in 2009 – will compensate for what some view as years of neglect by America's first black president. …

A few babies born in the United Kingdom could soon be the first in the world to have three parents – that is, their DNA could come from three different people thanks to an in-vitro fertilization technique designed to circumvent certain genetic diseases. The U.K….        

Sarah Murnaghan is now breathing on her own after her June 12 lung transplant.        

By Dave Warner PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) – With just days to go before two of the city’s most prestigious hospitals refuse to hire smokers, the ban has relit a debate about the wisdom of regulating workers’ behavior away from the workplace. Both the highly rated University of Pennsylvania Health System, which includes the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, as well as the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, named by US News and World Report as America’s top children’s hospital this year, will join dozens of hospitals across the country when they implement their policy on Monday, July 1. …

In a much anticipated ruling, the USDA announced that as soon as next year, schools across the country must provide snacks low in fat, sodium and salt in vending machines.