Health & Safety

Jeff Ingram, 46, suffers from a rare condition that wipes his memory. Whenever he has an attack, his wife, Penny, fears he won't regain his love for her.

For Man With Amnesia, Love Repeats Itself

9:25am December 17, 2012

by NPR Staff

Whenever Jeff Ingram suffers from an amnesia attack, his memory is wiped clean and he has to start over. Fearful that one day he may no longer accept her, his wife reminds him of the memories they've shared.

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A boy in Lima, Peru, receives a hepatitis B vaccine during an immunization drive in 2008. The United Nations is considering a ban on the preservative thimerosal, which is often used in hepatitis B and other vaccines in developing countries.

Health & Safety

Doctors Argue Against Proposed Ban On Vaccine Preservative

8:55am December 17, 2012

by Jon Hamilton

The preservative thimerosal keeps vaccines from going bad in places where there is no refrigeration. Anti-vaccine activists say it should be banned because it contains mercury, but public health officials insist it's safe.

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Tragedy And Children: What To Discuss

6:38pm December 16, 2012

The shooting in Newtown, Conn., is likely to have an impact on many children, even those nowhere near the state. Host Guy Raz is joined by NPR's Jon Hamilton to talk about how parents, teachers and others who spend time with kids should prepare to discuss the event.

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After Trauma, Maintaining Normalcy For Children

7:04pm December 15, 2012

LeVar Burton, host of the children's television show, Reading Rainbow, wrote a blog post Friday about how parents should speak to their kids in the aftermath of the latest school shooting. He joins host Guy Raz to discuss the importance of talking to kids and maintaining a normal routine.

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Is It Possible To Create A Mind?

1:03pm December 14, 2012

Siri can make an appointment for you. IBM's Watson beat a human contestant on Jeopardy. But will they ever really think? Futurist Ray Kurzweil shares his thoughts on the nature of the brain and describes how biological and technological advances might augment the human mind.

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Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., speaks Tuesday at a news conference calling for no reduction in the Medicare and Medicaid budgets, as part of the year-end budget talks on Capitol Hill in Washington. Waxman said he does not support means testing for Medicare.

Making The Rich Pay More For Medicare

5:33am December 14, 2012

by Julie Rovner

Means testing Medicare is one of the few areas where Democrats have shown a willingness to even consider the subject of spending less on the program. But not everyone supports that idea.

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Health & Safety

Flu Season 2012: What You Should Know This Year

2:56pm December 12, 2012

The 2012 flu season started strong and eight states have already reported widespread flu activity. This is the earliest regular flu season since 2003-2004. With only about 37% of the population vaccinated so far, the influenza virus still has the potential to have a severe impact.

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Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, speaks Tuesday as Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., and Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., listen during a news conference on Capitol Hill calling for no reduction in the Medicare and Med

Democrats Draw Line On Medicaid Cuts

8:15am December 12, 2012

by Julie Rovner

Democrats are worried that cuts to the program will go beyond the impact on the people it serves. It will also affect the Affordable Care Act, which calls for expanding Medicaid to as many as 16 million more people. The states are watching closely because the federal government has promised it will pay most of those additional costs.

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Feds Say 'No' To Partial Medicaid Expansion

10:55am December 11, 2012

by Julie Rovner

In the Supreme Court's Affordable Care Act ruling this summer, it decided that states' plans for expansion of the Medicaid program should be optional. That led governors to ask if they could expand the program in part but still receive federal funding. The administration has said no.

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Maribel Ramos, 13, has both sickle cell disease and an abnormality of blood vessels called moyamoya. Both put her at risk of stroke, and, together, they add up to a 95 percent chance of a major stroke.

Health & Safety

As Childhood Strokes Increase, Surgeons Aim To Reduce Risks

3:08pm December 10, 2012

by Richard Knox

Stroke is usually a problem that comes with age, but a surprising number of children have strokes, too. Many kids have conditions that put them at higher risk. But surgeons have developed a technique that cuts the risk in some of these kids by giving part of the brain a new blood supply.

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