Childhood Vaccination Rates Climb In California
State health officials suspect California's big measles outbreak last year helped persuade parents to get their kids immunized against other illnesses, too.
Humans
Was Dr. Asperger A Nazi? The Question Still Haunts Autism
Hans Asperger identified autism as a spectrum of disorders in the 1930s, but his work was ignored for decades because he went on to work under the Nazis. Research and treatment suffered as a result.
'In A Different Key' Traces History And Politics Of Autism
Authors John Donvan and Caren Zucker say parents have been "unsung heroes" in spurring more research on autism, and in getting many more kids out of institutions and into schools.
Lifesaving Flights Can Come With Life-Changing Bills
People in big, sparsely populated states like Montana rely on air ambulances to get to medical specialists they need. But the lifesaving flights can be hugely expensive and not covered by insurance.
Can't Focus? It Might Be Undiagnosed Adult ADHD
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is most commonly diagnosed in children. But older adults may find that what they had worried was early dementia is actually ADHD.
Thou Shalt Not Toss Food: Enlisting Religious Groups To Fight Waste
The Environmental Protection Agency is launching an initiative to engage religious leaders of all faiths to reduce food waste. Many groups have already embraced the challenge as a moral imperative.
What's Being Done To Address The Country's Backlog Of Untested Rape Kits
Tens of thousands of rape kits sit, untested, in evidence rooms. While a new push to clear the backlog has brought urgency the issue, what's taken so long — and why does it exist in the first place?
Gas Company Understated Benzene Exposure From California Leak
SoCalGas wrote about two air samples with high levels of the carcinogen — but not about 12 others, the AP reports. And the LA Times writes that efforts to cap the well appear to have destabilized it.
Average Age Of First-Time Moms Keeps Climbing In The U.S.
A national survey finds that U.S. mothers are having their first child later than ever — it's a 45-year trend. The big reason seems to be a steady drop in the number of teen moms.
Richard Thaler: Why Most Economists Might As Well Be Studying Unicorns
Shankar Vedantam talks to Richard Thaler — father of behavioral economics and author of Misbehaving -- about why we so often fail to act the way we should and how marshmallows can predict the future.