The FDA botched the last big outbreak of salmonella when it issued a huge warning to avoid tomatoes based on the fact that people who’d eaten salsa were getting sick. Turns out salsa was indeed making people sick — but that’s because the jalapenos in it were alive with the salmonella bacteria, not tomatoes. The tomato industry was nearly crippled and people continued to get sick off of jalapenos.
The FDA is well on its way to messing up another Read the rest of this entry »

Prosecutors must turn over all pertinent evidence to the defense. That requirement is a fundamental for a fair trial. It’s also the law.
The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office’s failure, over nearly two decades, to provide defense attorneys with hundreds, if not thousands, of tapes of medical examinations of child sexual-assault victims is a violation of legal procedure and possibly prosecutorial misconduct. Its action may lead to overturned Read the rest of this entry »

Of those states responding, 42 indicated that they’ve established an office or coordinator for women’s health. Twelve have an office or coordinator for men’s health. All 50 and D.C. have a website with information specifically related to women’s health. Fourteen (including D.C.) have a website with information specifically covering men’s health. Thirty-three have a commission to study and make recommendations regarding the health or general status Read the rest of this entry »

Deciding on grad school? In addition to taking on six-figure loans, late nights and ramen dinners, would-be students now must add in another challenge: family health insurance.
Increasingly, universities are dropping family health insurance programs, saying soaring costs make them a money-losing option. That’s forcing more families onto government programs like Medi-Cal or Healthy Families while moms and dads earn their law degrees or doctorates.
Read the rest of this entry »

Washoe County’s first case of influenza has been confirmed and health officials are urging the public to get their flu shots – if they have not already.
The case was reported from a local doctor, and the patient is now recovering.
The flu can be life-threatening for the very young, the very old or those with chronic illnesses. Authorities say the symptoms are unmistakable.
“The flu is a serious, upper respiratory illness– it’s not nausea and Read the rest of this entry »

The Atlanta Botanical Garden will open today for the first time since Friday’s fatal construction accident.
Garden Executive Director Mary Pat Matheson will officially reopen the garden at 9 a.m. after speaking to the media about a charitable fund created to help the victims of the accident.
Inspectors from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration also return to the garden to find out what caused part of an elevated walkway Read the rest of this entry »

Deciding on grad school? In addition to taking on six-figure loans, late nights and ramen dinners, would-be students now must add in another challenge: family health insurance.
Increasingly, universities are dropping family health insurance programs, saying soaring costs make them a money-losing option. That’s forcing more families onto government programs like Medi-Cal or Healthy Families while moms and dads earn their law degrees or doctorates.
Read the rest of this entry »

Eileen and Robert Korjenek wish Santa Clara County voters could understand what they now know all too well: that critical care is something you never know you need until you’re waiting desperately outside emergency-room doors.
The Gilroy couple, whose 22-year-old son suffered a traumatic brain injury in a 1995 car accident, are among the fiercest supporters of Measure A on the county ballot this November.
If approved by two-thirds of voters, the Read the rest of this entry »

Eileen and Robert Korjenek wish Santa Clara County voters could understand what they now know all too well: that critical care is something you never know you need until you’re waiting desperately outside emergency-room doors.
The Gilroy couple, whose 22-year-old son suffered a traumatic brain injury in a 1995 car accident, are among the fiercest supporters of Measure A on the county ballot this November.
If approved by two-thirds of voters, the Read the rest of this entry »

AVI BioPharma is focused on the discovery and development of
RNA-based drugs utilizing proprietary derivatives of its antisense
chemistry (morpholino-modified phosphorodiamidate oligomers or PMOs)
that can be applied to a wide range of diseases and genetic disorders
through several distinct mechanisms of action. Unlike other RNA
therapeutic approaches, AVI’s antisense technology has been used to
directly target both messenger RNA (mRNA) and Read the rest of this entry »