
Flu Vaccine Keeps Connecticut Kids from Hospitals
After flu shot regulations upped Connecticut kids' vaccination rate, their hospitalization risk went down. Dina Fine Maron reports
Dina Fine Maron, formerly an associate editor at Scientific American, is now a wildlife trade investigative reporter at National Geographic.

Flu Vaccine Keeps Connecticut Kids from Hospitals
After flu shot regulations upped Connecticut kids' vaccination rate, their hospitalization risk went down. Dina Fine Maron reports

Ukraine's Top Scientists Turn to Academic Unity in Call for Peace
The political unrest reverberating throughout the Ukraine has prompted its top scientists to send out a plea for peace. Since the crisis escalated last week, after Russia moved to establish control over the largely Russian speaking Crimean peninsula in southern Ukraine, it has fueled fears that the conflict will boil over into military action between [...]

Bedroom TV Linked to Kid Weight Gain
The mere presence of a TV in a child's bedroom is linked with weight gain—regardless of how many hours per week a youngster watches it. Dina Fine Maron reports

Toxic Fire Retardants Will Linger in the Environment for Years
Chemical fire retardants will be with us for years to come

Painful Mosquito-Borne Viral Disease Reaches Western Hemisphere
A nasty mosquito-borne virus spreads to the Western Hemisphere

Store Receipts on Thermal Paper Can Transfer BPA
Volunteers who handled receipts containing the hormone-altering compound bisphenol A for two hours showed elevated BPA levels in their urine. Dina Fine Maron reports

Is a Wave of Poliolike Symptoms in California Cause for Alarm?
A U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expert sheds light on five cases of children infected with an unidentified virus

Making Babies with 3 Genetic Parents Gets FDA Hearing
A reproductive technology that taps three parents’ DNA as a way to eliminate hereditary diseases could reach clinical trials if the Food and Drug Administration gives the go-ahead

Gene Therapy Shows Promise for Treating Heart Attack Victims
Injections of a normally silent gene sparked recovery in pigs induced to have heart attacks

The Rise of the Crazy Ants
Ants equipped with venom antidote invade southeastern U.S.

Concussions Abound in Soccer, Too
A meta-analysis finds that concussions accounted for between 6 and 9 percent of all injuries sustained on soccer fields. Dina Fine Maron reports

How India's Drug Biz Can Compromise Your Pills
The FDA commissioner will meet with Indian officials to seek quality fixes

Mosquitoes Carry Yet Another Tropical Disease toward the U.S.
Cases of chikungunya fever have already spread across the Caribbean islands

CVS Anti-Tobacco Move Possible Boon for Electronic Cigarettes?
When retail giant CVS Caremark unveiled its announcement this morning that it will no longer sell cigarettes or other tobacco products in its stores it was rightly hailed as a boon for public health, even netting public praise and a thank you – from the White House.

Dengue Fever Makes U.S. Inroads
The CDC reports that locally acquired Dengue killed a Texas woman in 2012 who had been misdiagnosed with West Nile virus. Dina Fine Maron reports

Obama Vows More Executive Action on High-Tech Manufacturing, Climate Change Mitigation and Renewal of Science
After a year buffeted by squeezes to federally funded research from a government shutdown as well as an extremely bumpy rollout of healthcare.gov, President Barack Obamas fifth State of the Union Tuesday night struck a few hopeful notes for science and technology.

Secondhand Smoke Exposure Doubled Asthmatic Kids' Hospital Readmissions
A study of more than 600 asthmatic children at one Ohio hospital found that if the kids’ saliva tested positive for markers of nicotine exposure, the children were about twice as likely to be readmitted over the next year for breathing issues. Dina Fine Maron reports

Do We Need Flame Retardants in Electronics?
Disagreement burns over whether the chemicals in electronics are dangerous, or even provide any fire safety

A Simple Way to Slash Unnecessary Drug Prescriptions
Treating the sniffles or a common cold with drugs is ineffective and unnecessary, yet too often patients are leaving their doctors appointments with a prescription in hand, helping to fuel the epidemic of antibiotic resistance.

What Fetal Genome Screening Could Mean for Babies and Parents
A noninvasive screening method could provide expectant parents with unprecedented and comprehensive fetal genetic data, but it also presents new ethical quandaries

After 23andMe, Another Personal Genetics Firm Is Charged with False Advertising
The Federal Trade Commission says GeneLink, which served 30,000 customers, made claims not based on science and failed to protect consumer information

What Ultramarathons do to the Body
Its hard for many people to imagine running (or walking) a standard marathon of 26.2 miles, let alone topping that distance with a so-called ultramarathon that could stretch to as much as 100 miles or more.

Why My Parents have a Closet Full of Lightbulbs
Energy-inefficient incandescents are being phased out, sparking concern among some consumers

States Curb Abortion Coverage under Obamacare
Many of the new online insurance exchanges have banished plans that cover the procedure