FYI AHEC Website

Scientist: Cell Phone Use May Increase Cancer Risk
The head of a cancer research center in Pittsburgh is urging his faculty and staff to limit their use of cell phones. Another scientist, Daniel Wartenberg, a professor at the UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, says it may be better to be safe than sorry.

Eco-Friendly Books Explore The Literary Green
Reading words printed on dead trees doesn't automatically translate into saving the planet. But by encouraging us to reevaluate the world around us, these three books offer a vision of a different path forward.

Need Some Botox With That Flu Shot?
Primary care doctors say they're having more and more trouble making ends meet; they're drowning in paperwork and making less than specialists. So, a growing number of general practitioners are adding cosmetic procedures to their offerings as a way to bring in more money.

Sex Without Condoms Is The New Engagement Ring
<em>Youth Radio's</em> Pendarvis Harshaw says that among his friends, the transition from condoms to no-condoms signifies a lasting commitment — more so even than walking down the aisle.

Gates Joins Bloomberg's Anti-Tobacco Initiative
Microsoft founder Bill Gates has joined forces with New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg to fight tobacco use in developing countries. Gates donated $125 million to a tobacco-control initiative that Bloomberg launched in 2002.

MS Patient Falls Into American Insurance Gap
After he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, Jeff Rubin of Philadelphia went bankrupt paying for his medical bills. Would that happen in England? Both the U.S. and the U.K. ration health care. A look at patient experiences on either side of the Atlantic.

Britain Weighs Social Cost Of 'Wonder' Drugs
Tarceva has been shown to extend life in some lung cancer patients by an average of eight weeks. But Great Britain's government health service has decided not to provide the drug. Cancer patient Donald Sutherland and his doctor, Fergus Macbeth, explain how they live with that decision.

Massachusetts Steps Forward On Health Coverage
In the most closely watched health care experiment in the United States, Massachusetts is requiring nearly all of its citizens to have insurance. Support remains strong for the program, and the number of uninsured has dropped by half.

Study On Viagra For Depressed Women Scrutinized
A new study suggests that Viagra may help women who experience sexual dysfunction as a side effect of drug treatment for depression. Some researchers doubt the study's findings and say more work needs to be done.

Jalapenos The Latest Culprit In Salmonella Search
On Monday, government inspectors had a big break in their search for the elusive cause of a nationwide salmonella outbreak. They discovered a strain of bacteria on a single Mexican-grown jalapeno pepper in a distribution facility in south Texas.

How Salmonella Investigation Shifted To Jalapeno
When officials at the Food and Drug Administration announced they had found salmonella on a Mexican-grown jalapeno pepper, it meant investigators finally had a solid lead on a trail that seemed to have grown cold.

Neuroscience Helps Marketers Judge Ads' Impact
For decades, television networks have relied on ratings to sell advertisements. Now, a company, NeuroFocus, studies the brain's responses to TV scenes and commercials to find out more about a viewer's attention span, memory and level of engagement.

Cholesterol Study Sinks Drug Makers' Stocks
A study released Monday of adults with heart disease found no evidence that using cholesterol drugs Vytorin and Zetia lowers heart-valve disease. The study's results sent shares of the companies that make the drugs tumbling.

Making Cities More Walkable
While gas-thirsty cars are languishing in the garage, people are hopping on buses, riding bikes, and reverting to the most time-tested form of transportation: their feet. Alex Chadwick talks to Christopher Leinberger, visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution, about why urban planners are paying more attention to cities' "walkability."

Carol Levine, Championing The Caregiver's Cause
Health care advocate Carol Levine has looked out for the interests of the housebound both at work and at home. For 17 years, she cared for her husband, who had been seriously injured in a car accident. He died recently, and Levine is left coping with a renewed sense of loss.