Health & Safety

Human Genes Not Patentable, Supreme Court Says

4:13pm June 14, 2013

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled this week that the mere act of isolating a DNA sequence does not make human genes patentable. Mary-Claire King, who helped discover the breast cancer gene at the center of the court dispute, discusses the ruling and its implications for genetics.

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Decoding 'the Most Complex Object in the Universe'

4:13pm June 14, 2013

The human brain contains some 100 billion neurons, which together form a network of Internet-like complexity. Christof Koch, chief scientific officer of the Allen Institute for Brain Science, calls the brain "the most complex object in the known universe," and he's mapping its connections in hopes of discovering the origins of consciousness.

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In Arizona, An Unlikely Ally For Medicaid Expansion

6:20pm June 12, 2013

by Ted Robbins

Republican Gov. Jan Brewer, one of President Obama's staunchest critics, has confounded conservatives in her own party by pushing for an extension of Medicaid coverage in the state.

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Health & Safety

Life Resumes: Looking Ahead With Suleika Jaouad

4:43pm June 12, 2013

Two years after Suleika Jaouad was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, she is cancer free. A month before her 25th birthday, she is starting to travel and think about her career again. As part of TOTN's "Looking Ahead" series, Jaouad reflects on regaining a bit of normalcy.

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Health & Safety

Fighting To Breathe: Living With COPD

2:21pm June 12, 2013

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a progressive lung disease that slowly robs sufferers of the ability to breathe. COPD is the third leading cause of death in the U.S., surpassed only by cancer and heart disease. There are treatments, but no cure for the disease.

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Maria Smolnitcaia, 52, is a singer living on a TB ward in Balti, Moldova. Smolnitcaia says "When we take the pills, we feel worse. I'm losing my hearing a little. I feel pain in my bones, in my whole body."

Faces Of Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis

11:25am June 12, 2013

by Jason Beaubien

New types of tuberculosis are emerging around the world that take years and thousands of dollars to cure. Patients fighting this disease are often isolated from their communities and suffer devastating drug side effects, such as permanent hearing loss and dizziness.

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Pushed Off The Job While Pregnant

8:20pm June 11, 2013

by Jennifer Ludden

At a time when most pregnant women work, there are new efforts to keep companies from unfairly targeting employees because of a pregnancy. Allegations of pregnancy discrimination persist and have even risen in recent years despite a decades-old law against it.

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Plan B One-Step might be the only emergency contraceptive available to all ages without a prescription.

Administration's Plan For Morning-After Pill Pleases No One

6:20pm June 11, 2013

by Julie Rovner

The Obama administration's move to drop opposition to over-the-counter sales of emergency contraception is pleasing no one. It proposes making just one brand-name form available to all ages without a prescription.

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Mike Jackson has diabetes and high blood pressure. His eye was damaged after he cut back on insulin because he couldn't afford it.

African-Americans Remain Hardest Hit By Medical Bills

8:37am June 11, 2013

by Patti Neighmond

Nearly 1 in 4 tell pollsters they're having a hard time paying for needed prescription medicine; 1 in 3 say they struggled to pay bills from hospitals or doctors last year.

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Men outside a hospital in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, wear surgical masks as a precaution against infection with a coronavirus.

Triple Threat: Middle East Respiratory Virus And 2 Bird Flus

8:11am June 11, 2013

by Richard Knox

Is the world on the verge of a pandemic? There are three reasons to think so. Two flu viruses are active, and a virus that bears a resemblance to SARS has cropped up in the Middle East. Each has devastating potential, but many early warnings of past pandemics have failed to materialize.

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