Health
‘More-after’ pill available in vending machine
Students at Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania can get the “morning-after” pill by sliding US$25 into a vending machine, an idea that has drawn the attention of federal regulators and raised questions about how accessible emergency contraception should be.
The student health centre at Shippensburg, a secluded public institution of 8,300 students tucked between mountain ridges in the Cumberland Valley, provides the Plan B One Step emergency contraceptive in the vending machine along with condoms, decongestants and pregnancy tests. READ
Hospice patients and pets kept together
As a retired psychologist, hospice patient John Joyce understands intellectually how a pet dog can enliven a home. READ
Drug offers hope for some CF patients
The first drug that treats the root cause of cystic fibrosis won approval Tuesday, offering a life-changing treatment for a handful of patients with the deadly illness and broader hope for thousands more patients with the inherited disease. READ
High-risk take-down
Bird flu studies at the centre of a heated controversy pose a potential risk to public health of an “unusually high magnitude,” the U.S. biosecurity experts who have advised against full publication of the studies said Tuesday. READ
Hope for women with uterine fibroids
New research offers hope for the first pill to treat a common problem in young women: fibroids in the uterus. READ
What to do when baby makes four
Parents have months to get ready for a baby. Experts say the countdown should include prep time for pets too. A baby changes everything for a pet — from how its home looks, smells and sounds to what the rules are. READ
Parasite scare
Canadian doctors are reporting two human infections with raccoon roundworm, a parasite many of the pesky critters carry in their guts and excrete in their poo. READ
Barbells, biceps and better posture
One thing I will say about being a personal trainer is that you are always learning, whether you mean to or not. I know I’ve written other columns on improving posture and the common occurrence of head forward, rounded shoulder posture. READ
In harmony with the Arizona desert
I have been lucky to escape the Alberta winter this week to hike in the Arizona dessert near the Mexican boarder. READ
Gentleman, roll up your sleeves
A federally appointed panel of experts has endorsed use of HPV vaccine in males in Canada, potentially opening the door to wider use of the vaccine in boys and young men. READ
Weeds to some, food and medicine to others
Seed catalogues, paper or on-line, are written to encourage customers to make purchases and try new products. Take care to read what is being sold as some of the items are suspect. In fact, a few are even on Alberta’s noxious weed list. READ
Surgeons don 3D glasses for better perception
It’s a technology that had audiences for movies such as “Avatar” and “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” virtually leaping out of their seats. And soon, that 3D sense of being in the centre of the action could go beyond the cinema to hospital operating rooms. READ
Marijuana research could soon yield prescription options
A quarter-century after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first prescription drugs based on the main psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, additional medicines derived from or inspired by the cannabis plant itself could soon be making their way to pharmacy shelves, according to drug companies, small biotech firms and university scientists. READ
Healthy motivation for the unmotivated
Despite the unlikelihood of making it through a day without hearing about “weight loss,” “get healthier,” “finding ways to have more energy” or some other insinuation regarding eating better — there are in fact those who don’t seem to care. READ
Are you fit for sex?
Good news: Sex is safe for most heart patients. If you’re healthy enough to walk up two flights of stairs without chest pain or gasping for breath, you can have a love life. READ
Surgery for your blood pressure
Luis Martins, a 57-year-old clerk at Bombardier, was discharged from hospital on Wednesday — the day after undergoing a 35-minute operation that immediately reduced his blood pressure from a life-threatening 210 over 125 to a healthy 130 over 70. READ
Research into lab-bred bird flu given ‘pause’
Scientists who created easier-to-spread versions of the deadly bird flu said Friday they are temporarily halting more research, as international specialists debate what should happen next. READ
Withholding fetal sex could stop ‘repugnant’ aborting of females: doctor
Dr. Rajendra Kale calls it the most severe and repugnant form of discrimination against females — and he wants to see it stopped. READ
Sorting out banned bird flu study
The World Health Organization says it will take a role in helping sort through an international scientific controversy over two bird flu studies that the U.S. government deemed too dangerous to publish in full. READ
The more embryos, the more chance of multiple births
A new study of fertility treatment found that women who get three or more embryos have no better odds of having a baby than those who get just two embryos. READ
