Medical Treatments

The Austin City Council is defying Texas state legislators, setting aside $150,000 in city funds to help local women who seek abortions pay for attendant costs, such as transportation or child care.

Pregnant women at high or even moderate risk of developing the life-threatening condition preeclampsia should consider taking a very small dose of aspirin daily to prevent it, doctors say.

State regulators and even one medevac company have raised doubts about prepaid subscriptions and promised benefits offered by air ambulance companies. Gaps in coverage can be a problem.

Researchers hope large numbers of very primitive, embryo-like structures will lead to new insights into early human development and ways to prevent miscarriages and birth defects.

Around 20% of U.S. adults live with chronic pain. Medical schools traditionally haven't dedicated much time to teaching about pain and pain control, but one top school now has a mandatory course.

Alternative tests are emerging, the agency says, such as computer modeling and tissue studies of cells grown in the lab. Environmental advocates say the move is too quick, and disregards human health.

Medical and genetic data from more than a million Americans are now in scientific databases. Some programs hoard the data, while others share widely with scientists, hoping to speed medical discovery.