Health Glance
New York City took its smoking prohibition outdoors on Monday, adding the city's parks and beaches to the list of places where smoking is banned as part of Mayor Michael Bloomberg's campaign to promote healthy habits.
The ban, which officials hope will prevent problems caused by second-hand smoke, adds to the city's 2003 ban on cigarettes in bars and restaurants. The new law will not be enforced by police but by some 200 parks personnel who watch over the city's 29,000 acres (12,000 hectares) of park land and beaches. Violators face a $50 fine but officials say the ban is meant to be largely self-enforcing.
Beaches, parks off limits to New York smokers
Study shows sharp rise in early autism diagnoses
More children aged 3 and younger are now being treated for autism in Massachusetts, a new study finds. One in 129 children in Massachusetts born between 2001 and 2005 was enrolled in early intervention programs for an autism spectrum disorder by their third birthday, according to the study.
Over the five-year period, the proportion of children aged 3 and younger getting treated rose from one in 178 among children born in 2001 to one in 108 for those born in 2005 — a 66% increase.
GM food toxins found in the blood of 93% of unborn babies
Toxins implanted into GM food crops to kill pests are reaching the bloodstreams of women and unborn babies, alarming research has revealed.
A landmark study found 93 per cent of blood samples taken from pregnant women and 80 per cent from umbilical cords tested positive for traces of the chemicals.
Tests for ovarian cancer can backfire
For years, women have been told that early detection of cancer saves lives. Not always. A definitive new study finds that screening healthy women for ovarian cancer — one of the deadliest and most-feared of malignancies — actually does more harm than good.
In an 18-year study of 78,216 women, those randomly assigned to be screened for ovarian cancer died at the same rate as women who weren't, according to research released Wednesday in advance of the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
Coffee drinking may cut prostate cancer risk
In case you needed one, here’s another possible reason to have that cup of coffee in the morning: Men who regularly drink coffee appear to be less likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer, especially the most lethal kind, according to new research.
Lorelei Mucci of the Harvard School of Public Health and colleagues analyzed data collected from 47,911 U.S. men who participated in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study, a large, ongoing examination of a variety of health issues for men. As part of the study, the men reported their coffee consumption every four years between 1986 and 2008. During that period, 5,035 cases of prostate cancer were reported, including 642 fatal cases.
Doctors examine AIDS 'cure' case
Doctors say a 45-year-old man in California may be the first person ever cured of AIDS as a result of the discovery of an apparent HIV immunity gene.
Timothy Ray Brown tested positive for the human immunodeficiency virus in 1995, but has entered scientific journals as the first person to have that HIV virus completely eliminated from his body in what doctors have termed a "functional cure," KCBS-TV, San Francisco, reported Monday.
Produce industry presses USDA on pesticide report
Every year for two decades, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has issued an annual report on the amount of pesticide residue it detects from samples of fresh fruits and vegetables around the country.
The Environmental Protection Agency uses the data to monitor exposure to pesticides and enforce federal standards designed to protect infants, children and other vulnerable people. But the 200-page annual report has become a target of an unusual lobbying campaign by the produce industry, which worries that the data are being misinterpreted by the public.
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