Health & Science

Latest Highlights

Maggots light up using a green fluorescent protein from jellyfish. It is being used in everything from cancer to Alzheimer's research.

Jellyfish protein spawns revolution in biology

By Faye Flam, Inquirer Staff Writer

Posted 2:26am

Osamu Shimomura just wanted to know what makes jellyfish glow in the dark. Now, the green-glowing protein that came of his quest is lighting up mouse tumors at the University of Pennsylvania and fruit flies at Fox Chase Cancer Center.

States: Ban bisphenol A in baby products

The chemical stiffens plastic for bottles. Studies linked it to cancer, diabetes and early puberty.

By Catherine Larkin, Bloomberg News

Posted 2:26am

Eleven makers of plastic baby bottles and formula were urged by three state attorneys general to stop using the chemical bisphenol A after studies linked it to cancer, diabetes, and the early onset of puberty.

Lack of insurance brought diabetic near death 10/13/2008: By Michael Vitez , Inquirer Staff Writer

Iyasu Habtemicael - Izzy - drives a florist truck for $8 an hour most days and then works nights in a University of Pennsylvania parking garage.
The Uninsured Die Sooner 10/13/2008: Uninsured diabetics are less likely to see doctors and get preventative care. They are also more likely
Thrift stores booming in slow economy 10/11/2008: By Sandy Bauers , Inquirer Staff Writer

Lindel Richardson smiled as she dropped a pair of shoes into her shopping cart. They were new, the brand was Unisa, and they cost all of $3.99.
Survey: 1 in 4 girls getting cervical-cancer vaccine 10/10/2008: By Mike Stobbe , Associated Press

ATLANTA - One in four teen girls has received the relatively new vaccine against cervical cancer, federal health officials said yesterday.
Falling Through Getting emergency care under a fake name 10/09/2008: Kevin McKenzie, 27, had a runaway heartbeat but knew he didn’t have any insurance. At the hospital, he made up a name.

By Michael Vitez , Inquirer Staff Writer

Kevin McKenzie, 27, a graduate of Cherry Hill West High School, plays bass guitar in an up-and-coming Philadelphia indie pop band, Liam and Me.
Sweeping changes in mental-health care 10/09/2008: Phila. agency is rolling out a model for clients, including addicts, with emphasis on recovery.

By Don Sapatkin , Inquirer Staff Writer

Recalling Philadelphia's roots as a medical innovator dating to colonial times, city officials outlined yesterday what they described as sweeping changes - some completed, others envisioned - in the treatment of drug addicts and the mentally ill.
Glowing jellyfish lights the way to Nobel 10/09/2008: Three scientists shared the chemistry prize for their work on a green fluorescent protein.

By Malcolm Ritter , Associated Press

Three U.S.-based scientists won a Nobel Prize yesterday for turning a glowing green protein from jellyfish into a revolutionary way to watch the tiniest details of life within cells and living creatures.

Sweeping changes in mental-health care 10/09/2008: By Don Sapatkin , Inquirer Staff Writer
Glowing jellyfish lights the way to Nobel 10/09/2008: By Malcolm Ritter , Associated Press
Lawmakers fail to renew health-care watchdog 10/09/2008: By Josh Goldstein , Inquirer Staff Writer
NASA probe reveals Mercury's pitted surface 10/09/2008: By Demian McLean , Bloomberg News
Human testes cells converted to stem cells 10/09/2008: By Karen Kaplan , Los Angeles Times
No cough or cold medicine for kids under 4, firms say 10/08/2008: By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar , Associated Press

Shooting stars 10/13/2008: By Gloria Hochman , For The Inquirer

By day Steven E. Mazlin tends to his patients, those with multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, brain tumors, and other neurological ailments.
Scrubbing In An eye doctor gets pink eye, and sees it as a learning tool 10/13/2008: By Rachel K. Sobel , For The Inquirer

It started with an intense itch, then a sensation that someone had thrown a handful of sand in my eye. I tried not to touch my eye. I tried to wish it away. But I knew what was happening: pink eye.
Going extra miles for cancer aid 10/13/2008: For a feel-good body and soul you could do the Philadelphia AIDS Walk along the river drives this Sunday, or run the Lupus Loop in Fairmount Park on Oct. 26. Or you could live vicariously through the world-travels of the Foley sisters.
Personal Health: News and Notes 10/13/2008
Ask Dr. H: White matter in the brain is normal 10/13/2008: By Mitchell Hecht , For The Inquirer

Question: My husband had an MRI of his head for ringing of the ears. The report was OK but said that he had "white matter" in his head. What does that mean?
List of the doomed growing 10/13/2008: By Kenneth R. Weiss , Los Angeles Times

BARCELONA, Spain - At least one-quarter of the world's mammals in the wild are threatened with extinction, according to an international survey released last week that blames the steep declines on loss of habitat, hunting and poaching.

Tracking toxic textiles 10/06/2008: By Tom Avril , Inquirer Staff Writer
GreenSpace: Making the best catch 10/06/2008: By Sandy Bauers , Inquirer GreenSpace Columnist
The daily junk-food fill-up. 10/06/2008
Personal Health: News and Notes 10/06/2008

Health & Science Columns and Blogs

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GreenSpace

Inquirer environmental reporter Sandy Bauers writes on how to live a more ecologically sensitive life.

Inside Out: Dark news cannot dim her brilliant smile

By Dan Gottlieb

I first met Andrea Collins Smith in August when she was a guest on my radio show. This 36-year-old, married mother of six had tattoos up and down both arms, sparkling eyes, and the happiest smile I have ever seen. She also had a turban on her head, part of the uniform of a woman taking chemotherapy.

Ask Dr. H: White matter in the brain is normal

By Mitchell Hecht, For The Inquirer

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