Health Care Avian Flu Vaccine March 31, 2006 • An experimental bird flu vaccine works only some of the time, and then only at very high doses, researchers said this week. That's not good news, since it's this vaccine the government is stockpiling in case the avian flu jumps from birds to humans. Ira Flatow leads a discussion about efforts to develop a vaccine that works. Avian Flu Vaccine Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5315150/5315151" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Avian Flu Vaccine Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5315150/5315151" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Children's Health Teens and Sleep March 31, 2006 • A new study says teens don't get enough sleep: 80 percent of adolescents surveyed don't get the recommended nine hours on school nights. They're paying the consequences, from falling asleep in class to driving drowsy to skipping exercise. Ira Flatow talks with sleep experts about how to handle tired teens. Teens and Sleep Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5315153/5315154" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Teens and Sleep Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5315153/5315154" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Your Money Prescription Drug Ads March 31, 2006 • Only two countries -- the United States and New Zealand -- allow prescription drug ads on television. Thanks to these ads, we've all heard of the little purple pill and can probably name two sources of cholesterol. But is a little knowledge a dangerous thing? Ira Flatow leads a discussion on the pros and cons of allowing drug ads on TV. Prescription Drug Ads Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5315159/5315160" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
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Children's Health Surgery Helps Kids Who Can't 'Hold It' March 30, 2006 • Few things terrify children as much as the thought of wetting their pants at school. In Portland, Ore., pediatric neurosurgeon Monica Wehby is helping a group of children for whom this fear is a daily reality. Surgery Helps Kids Who Can't 'Hold It' Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5309511/5309518" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Surgery Helps Kids Who Can't 'Hold It' Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5309511/5309518" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Health Officials Keep Close Watch on Bird Flu Mixed Results from Experimental Bird Flu Vaccine March 30, 2006 • An experimental bird flu vaccine has potential to offer protection from a pandemic, according to a study in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine. But the research also suggests the effective dose is much greater than originally thought, and it works in only half of all patients. Mixed Results from Experimental Bird Flu Vaccine Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5312047/5312048" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Mixed Results from Experimental Bird Flu Vaccine Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5312047/5312048" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Your Health C-Section Births Gaining Popularity March 30, 2006 • Record numbers of American mothers are opting to give birth through C-section, even when there is no clear medical need. The National Institutes of Health held a conference to determine the risks and benefits of a pre-planned Caesarean. C-Section Births Gaining Popularity Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5311258/5311259" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
C-Section Births Gaining Popularity Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5311258/5311259" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Research News Study Makes Case for Late Bloomers March 29, 2006 • A big brain won't make you smart. But a flexible one might. A study in this week's issue of Nature shows that the smartest children have brains that develop later and change more dramatically over time. Study Makes Case for Late Bloomers Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5310107/5310108" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Study Makes Case for Late Bloomers Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5310107/5310108" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Katrina & Beyond Unorthodox Therapy in New Orleans Raises Concern March 29, 2006 • Some mental health workers are using untested therapies in the wake of Hurricane Katrina -- and that is prompting concern. One such treatment is thought field therapy, in which tapping on a series of acupuncture-type points in the body is thought to free the sufferer from emotional pain. Unorthodox Therapy in New Orleans Raises Concern Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5309328/5310039" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Unorthodox Therapy in New Orleans Raises Concern Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5309328/5310039" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Opinion Health Care Rebecca Peterson: Making Pain Public March 27, 2006 • This piece reveals many of the difficult moments that we faced as a family and as a couple during Stewart's illness. When I first spoke of these things to a radio producer, Mary Beth Kirchner, it was wonderfully cathartic to have someone else witness the very hard things we had to bear.
Health Care Q & A: What Caregivers Should Know March 27, 2006 • Rebecca Peterson talks candidly about the difficulties of caring for her husband, Stewart Selman, who was dying from a brain tumor. Peterson experienced both compassion and anger, which is a fairly normal reaction when one spouse cares for another, according to Sarah Gupta. Director of support services for the Brain Tumor Society, Gupta talks about what families should know when caring for a loved one who is sick.
Driveway Moments A Year to Live, A Year to Die March 27, 2006 • At 48, Stewart Selman learned he had a malignant brain tumor. Faced with a grave diagnosis, Selman offered to keep an audio diary of his final year, leaving a record for his family. It took time, his wife says, before she could hear it. A Year to Live, A Year to Die Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5303770/5304001" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
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Opinion Children's Health Slate's Medical Examiner: Breast vs. the Bottle March 27, 2006 • Madeleine Brand speaks with Slate contributor and pediatrician Dr. Sydney Spiesel about whether the benefits of breast feeding have been overestimated. Slate's Medical Examiner: Breast vs. the Bottle Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5303617/5303618" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Slate's Medical Examiner: Breast vs. the Bottle Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5303617/5303618" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Research News Researchers Try Fighting Heart Disease Gene by Gene March 27, 2006 • Scientists are reporting a new way to lower cholesterol. The process involves a tool called RNA interference. It uses a snippet of RNA to turn off a single gene at a time. In theory, genes responsible for producing cholesterol could be controlled to help prevent heart disease. Researchers Try Fighting Heart Disease Gene by Gene Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5302923/5302924" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Researchers Try Fighting Heart Disease Gene by Gene Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5302923/5302924" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Research News Study: Adult Mice Cells Mimic Embryonic Stem Cells March 24, 2006 • German scientists say cells from the testes of male mice can behave like embryonic stem cells. If the same holds true in humans, it could perhaps provide a controversy-free source of versatile cells for use in treating disease. Study: Adult Mice Cells Mimic Embryonic Stem Cells Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5300326/5300327" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Study: Adult Mice Cells Mimic Embryonic Stem Cells Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5300326/5300327" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Health Officials Keep Close Watch on Bird Flu Why Is Avian Flu So Hard to Catch? March 24, 2006 • New studies show that the avian flu virus doesn't pass easily between humans. Two different teams of scientists think they know why. Their studies appeared this week in Nature and Science and detail what makes this disease different from human flu viruses. Why Is Avian Flu So Hard to Catch? Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5299790/5299791" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Why Is Avian Flu So Hard to Catch? Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5299790/5299791" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript