Grant Hasse was born with two very rare conditions — one that’s usually fatal, the other that should have left him unable to talk. But at almost 4 years old, he’s a healthy bundle of energy after three dozen surgeries, including an innovative operation to create a new voice box. Doctors discovered before he was … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — With time running out on open enrollment season, many seniors are facing sharply higher premiums for Medicare’s popular prescription drug program. The reason: rising drug costs have overtaken a long stretch of stable premiums. Beneficiaries have until Dec. 7 to see if there’s a lower-cost plan that will cover their medications in … Continue reading
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. (AP) — In a Nordic-inspired building tucked in a corner of the Bayer CropScience North American headquarters, high school students wander through 6,000 square feet dedicated entirely to the specialness of bees. Children taste different types of honey and examine the differences between honeybee and carpenter bee specimens. The pesticide maker … Continue reading
MONROVIA, Liberia (AP) — Two experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are set to travel to Liberia to try to determine the cause of new Ebola cases confirmed last week, more than two months after the country had been declared free of Ebola transmission for a second time, a Liberian health official … Continue reading
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A California woman is evaluating her legal options after a judge ruled against her in her fight to keep five frozen embryos she created with her now ex-husband over his objections, her attorney said. Mimi Lee must abide by an agreement with her ex-husband to destroy the embryos if they got … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved genetically modified salmon, the first such altered animal allowed for human consumption in the United States. The Obama administration had stalled in approving the fast-growing salmon for more than five years amid consumer concerns about eating genetically modified foods. But the agency said Thursday … Continue reading
HELSINKI (AP) — After the smartphone and fitness bracelet, here comes the smart ring. And the smart pacifier, and smart rollator. “Wellness” computers that monitor your pulse, temperature and other health indicators are becoming increasingly sophisticated and varied to cover every aspect — and age — of human life. Some products, like the ring by … Continue reading
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — Linda Horan, diagnosed in July with late-stage lung cancer, says she may be dead before New Hampshire opens its first medical marijuana dispensaries early next year. She wants a judge to order the state to grant her a medical marijuana identification card now so she can buy marijuana legally in Maine. … Continue reading
NEW YORK (AP) — The federal government’s proposal Thursday to ban smoking inside and out of public housing nationwide got a decidedly mixed reaction from the people most affected. Some who suffer from secondhand smoke were thrilled, but others, including some non-smokers, worried that it gives the government yet another reason to harass or even … Continue reading
SEATTLE (AP) — As Chipotle prepares to reopen its restaurants in the Pacific Northwest this week after an E. coli outbreak that sickened about 45 people, health experts say foodborne illnesses are more common than the public realizes. Forty three Chipotle restaurants in Washington state and the Portland, Oregon, area have been closed since the … Continue reading
Ninety-seven years ago, an armistice ended World War I, which was then the greatest conflict the world had ever seen. Armistice Day became Veterans Day in the 1950s and now commemorates the spirit of all U.S. military members. A look at how the day is being observed across the country: ___ PARADES OF PRIDE Parades … Continue reading
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — About one-third of births in the United States each year are by cesarean section, and often those moms don’t get to have immediate skin-to-skin contact with their babies. That didn’t seem fair to registered nurses Kimberly Jarrelle, Deborah Burbic and Jess Niccoli, whose experience in Richmond-area hospital labor-and-delivery units sent them … Continue reading
NEW YORK (AP) — Tim Gunn said he was apprehensive about participating in a bite-size version of “Project Runway” featuring teen designers as young as 13. “I thought,” he recalled in a recent interview, “will I have to soft-pedal my critiques? Is it all going to be watered down? Are they going to be emotional … Continue reading
PARIS (AP) — Bacon, hot dogs and cold cuts are under fire: The World Health Organization threw its global weight behind years of experts’ warnings and declared Monday that processed meats raise the risk of colon and stomach cancer and that red meat is probably harmful, too. Meat producers are angry, vegetarians are feeling vindicated, … Continue reading
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Federal officials say the cost of a benchmark plan on the health care exchange will go up 4 percent for Virginia residents. The increase for 2016 coverage in Virginia is lower than the average for the 37 states that are using the Healthcare.gov website. The U.S. Department of Health and Human … Continue reading
Spartan Echo 