Human waste, rats' nests spur Skid Row cleanup
In this April 14, 2006, file photo, a homeless woman seeks shelter under construction scaffolding in the Skid Row area of downtown Los Angeles. The city of Los Angeles is violating the county health code in its Skid Row area by allowing the nation's densest population of homeless people to live on streets infested with rats, human excrement and used hypodermic needles, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health has found, in a survey conducted through May 2012.
/ AP"Occupy" protests spark public health fears
An extensive agency inspection of the downtown district found nearly 90 rats' nests, mostly around street planters, people living in about 60 tents on sidewalks - some with animals - and 90 piles of human waste. The inspection last month focused on eight blocks of the 10-block district. On one block alone, close to 30 piles of excrement were noted.
Continue »Legionnaires' kills Scottish man, sickens 15
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(CBS/AP) LONDON - Health authorities in Scotland say one man has died and 15 people are in critical condition in hospitals after an outbreak of Legionnaires' disease in the Edinburgh area.
NHS Lothian, the local health authority, says it is investigating another 15 suspected cases.
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It said Tuesday that the man who died was in his 50s and had underlying health conditions.
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Half of New Yorkers against ban on sugary drinks
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(CBS/AP) About half of New Yorkers say Mayor Michael Bloomberg's proposed ban of sugary drinks over 16 ounces from the city's eateries is an example of government going too far, while 42 percent say it would be good health policy, according to a poll released Monday.
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Of the 500 adults surveyed Sunday for the NY1-Marist poll, 53 percent said the proposal is a bad idea, while 42 percent praised the concept - which would make New York the first American city to so directly attempt to limit portion sizes in an attempt to fight obesity.
Continue »Suit: Docs didn't treat erection, watched baseball
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Daren Scott of Brockton, Mass., is seeking $2 million in his federal lawsuit against Yale-New Haven Hospital. The lawsuit says Scott was diagnosed before the incident with recurrent priapism, a persistent prolonged erection that isn't caused by sexual arousal, according to the Mayo Clinic. Found most commonly in boys between 5 and 10 years old and in men between the ages of 20 to 50, it normally needs immediate medical attention to prevent tissue damage.
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USDA: Most schools opt out of pink slime beef
(CBS/AP) Meat containing "pink slime," the colorfully nicknamed beef byproduct that caused a national uproar, will not be served at most school districts participating in the National School Lunch Program, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said.
The USDA says the vast majority of states participating in the government-subsidized lunch program have opted to order ground beef that doesn't contain the product, called lean finely textured beef. Only Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota chose to continue ordering beef that may contain the filler.
The product has been used for decades and federal regulators say it's safe to eat. Regardless, it became the center of national attention after the nickname "pink slime" was quoted in a New York Times article on the safety of meat processing methods.
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"Smart bomb" cancer treatments unveiled at meeting
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(CBS/AP) CHICAGO - Cutting edge cancer research unveiled this weekend at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting in Chicago highlights a new class of "smart bomb" treatments that deliver powerful poisons directly to cancer cells while leaving healthy ones alone.
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The conference, attended by more than 30,000 cancer specialists, also released research by scientists on a new tool that helps the immune system attack a broad range of cancer types, treatments aimed at new genes and cancer pathways and better tests to predict which patients will benefit from them.
"I see major advances being made in big diseases" such as breast and prostate cancers, said Dr. Richard Pazdur, cancer drug chief at the federal Food and Drug Administration, which on Wednesday announced a new policy intended to speed breast cancer drugs to the market.
Continue »Mail-order hatchery tied to salmonella infections
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(CBS/AP) Mail-order chicks and ducklings might make for cute Easter gifts, but health officials are warning that kids are getting sick from them.
A single mail-order hatchery in the western U.S. has been linked to more than 300 cases of salmonella since 2004, a new study shows.
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The illnesses were detailed Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine. No one died, but three dozen people were hospitalized with bloody diarrhea or other symptoms. Health officials believe thousands more illnesses connected to the business were probably never reported.
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FDA: High fructose corn syrup isn't "corn sugar"
Farmer Jason Podany using a combine to harvest corn near Farmingdale, Ill. on Aug. 30, 2011. The FDA ruled that high fructose corn syrup should not be called "corn sugar" despite industry requests.
/ AP/Seth PerlmanThe Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday rejected the Corn Refiners Association's bid to rename its sweetening agent "corn sugar."
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Given the sweetener's bad reputation in recent years, the association submitted an application to the agency in 2010 to have the product renamed on nutrition labels.
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14 kinds of headaches and how to treat them
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"We know a lot more than we did 20 years ago about what causes headaches," says Dr. Charles Flippen, associate professor of neurology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. "We know what areas of the brain are generating pain, but we don't have the whole picture."
From our friends at Health.com, here are 14 types of headaches, their causes, and more importantly - how to make them go away.
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Smoker's lung better than no new lung at all
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(CBS/AP) A lung transplant is given to someone who is likely to die from a lung diseases - such as cystic fibrosis or COPD - within one to two years. A new study finds that many of these patients are better off taking a donated lung from a former smoker than not getting a new lung at all.
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They probably won't live as long as those who get a lung transplant from a nonsmoker, the study shows, but British researchers say patients will survive longer if they are willing to accept lungs from anyone, including smokers. In the U.K. that's a key issue, because about 40 percent of donated lungs come from people who have previously smoked.
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Poisoning risk from mini laundry detergent packs
Laundry detergent makers introduced miniature packets in recent months such as this one photographed Thursday, May 24, 2012, in Houston. But doctors across the country say children are confusing the tiny, brightly colored packets with candy and swallowing them. Nearly 250 cases have been reported to poison control centers.
/ AP(CBS/AP) Miniature laundry detergent packets have been popping up more on store shelves as an alternative to bulky bottles prone to spills. But doctors across the country are warning parents that kids are confusing the tiny, brightly colored packets with candy and eating them.
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Nearly 250 cases have been reported this year to poison control centers. Though they remain a tiny fraction of the thousands of poisoning calls received every year, doctors are concerned. No deaths have been reported but the symptoms they see in connection with ingesting the packets -- such as nausea and breathing problems -- are more severe than typical detergent poisoning.
"We're not quite sure why it's happening, but we've clearly had some kids who have become much more ill," said Dr. Kurt Kleinschmidt, a Dallas toxicologist and professor at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. " We look at these pods as being clearly more dangerous than the standard detergent."
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German medical group apologizes for Holocaust role
Helen Rappaport, survivor of Auschwitz and the experiments of Dr. Joseph Mengele, lights a candle at a Holocaust Remembrance Day Ceremony at the Harold Washington Library April 21, 2005 in Chicago, Illinois.
/ Scott Olson/Getty Images(CBS/AP) BERLIN - The German Medical Association has adopted a declaration apologizing for sadistic experiments and other actions of doctors under the Nazis, asking forgiveness of victims.
In the statement adopted earlier this week in Nuremberg, the association, called the Bundesarztekammer, said many doctors under the Nazis were "guilty, contrary to their mission to heal, of scores of human rights violations and we ask the forgiveness of their victims, living and deceased, and of their descendants."
In addition to performing pseudo-scientific experiments in concentration camps, German doctors also were key to the Nazi's program of forced sterilization or euthanasia of the mentally ill or others deemed "unworthy of life."
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CDC: States not spending on smoking prevention
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(CDC/AP) Tobacco taxes and legal settlements have raked billions of dollars for states around the country according to a new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but over the past decade, only about 3 percent of that money has been spent funding tobacco prevention programs.
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That makes it tougher to reduce the death and disease toll caused by tobacco use, the CDC said in the report, published in the May 24 issue of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Continue »Scientists edge closer to finding autism causes
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(CBS/AP) What causes autism? It's a question that has led the government and many research organizations to invest more than $1 billion in studies over the past decade. In some ways, the research looks like a long-running fishing expedition, with a focus on everything from genetics to the age of the father, the weight of the mother, and how close a child lives to a freeway.
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That may soon change. Some in the field say they are seeing the beginning of a wave of scientific reports that should strengthen some theories, jettison others and perhaps even lead to new treatments.
Continue »Group urges swimming lessons for minority kids
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(CBS/AP) Black and Hispanic children should be taught how to swim to curb the racial disparities in drowning rates, according to government safety advocates.
Drowning risk high for kids in portable pools
CDC: Kids' accidental death rates down 30%, "but we can do more"
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) will release its annual childhood drowning report Thursday at the Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Complex, home to the International Swimming Hall of Fame. The report urges parents to be aware of swimming pool safety before the summer heats up.
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