MSNBC Health News

A U.S. judge Tuesday refused to lift a ban on federal funding of human embryonic stem cell research despite warnings from the Obama administration that it would set back key research and cost more than a thousand jobs.


Stem cell - United States - Embryonic stem cell - Presidency of Barack Obama - Biotechnology

Federal health regulators have issued a warning to the maker of Canada Dry ginger ale over unsubstantiated nutritional claims on its green tea-flavored ginger ale.


Canada Dry - Ginger ale - Green tea - Beverages - Tea

The hallucinogen psilocybin — known by the street name magic mushrooms — may help ease the anxiety that often accompanies late-stage cancer, U.S. researchers said on Monday.
Cancer - Psilocybin - Psilocybin mushroom - Anxiety - Health

U.S. smoking rates continue to hold steady, at about one in five adults lighting up regularly, frustrated health officials reported Tuesday.
Health - United States - Tobacco - Substance Abuse - Addictions

Fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg has helped the Cleveland Clinic create a more stylish hospital gown without the peek-a-boo back.

Cleveland Clinic - Diane von Fürstenberg - Fashion design - Fashion - Hospital

Long-term weight loss may release into the blood industrial pollutants linked to illnesses like diabetes, hypertension and rheumatoid arthritis, researchers said on Tuesday.
Rheumatoid arthritis - Health - Arthritis - Conditions and Diseases - Musculoskeletal Disorders

Fire officials say a Massachusetts woman who fell onto a yellow jackets' nest in her yard was stung more than 500 times.
Yellow jacket - United States - Sports - Massachusetts - Emergency department

Men are more susceptible than women to memory problems in old age, according to a new study.


Old age - People - Men - Knowledge Management - Memory Improvement

You walk, you nap, you brush your teeth. Now get more out of all these smart everyday choices with these ingenious tweaks.

Tea - Food - Recreation - Beverages - Drink

Widely used dental sealants contain derivatives of the controversial chemical BPA, but dentists can use the product safely in kids, a new study finds. But pregnant women should wait until after delivery.
Dentistry - Health - Business - Products and Services - Healthcare

Japan has confirmed the nation's first case of a new gene in bacteria that allows the microorganisms to become drug-resistant superbugs, detected in a man who had medical treatment in India, a Health Ministry official said Tuesday.


Japan - Bacteria - Asia - Gene - India

Chemicals used to make non-stick coatings on cookware and to waterproof fabrics may raise levels of cholesterol in children, U.S. researchers said on Monday.
Non-stick surface - Cookware and bakeware - United States - Health - Business

People's emotional well-being  increases along with their income up to about $75,000 but then levels out after their primary  needs are met, researchers reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.


Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - Social Sciences - Psychology - National Academy of Science - Science and Environment

As schools start back into session,  some parents face a difficult question: Send their little ones to kindergarten as soon as they become age-eligible, or hold them back?

Kindergarten - Education - Early Childhood - Math - Vermont

Wanda Rodriguez never knew  Victor Peraza growing up. He split from her mother just months after she was born and was never a part of their lives. But in an uncanny coincidence, the New York nurse was reunited with her terminally ill dad some 41 years later.

New York City - New York - Family - Bronx - Home

The vaccine used to contain the recent swine flu pandemic was effective, but health authorities will need to ramp up the speed and volume of production during the next global outbreak, a World Health Organization official said Monday.
World Health Organization - Influenza - 2009 flu pandemic - Health - Pandemic

Army bomb testers based at Fort Campbell, Ky., are undergoing hundreds of hours of cognitive tests as part of the military's first-of-its-kind study of mild traumatic brain injury.

Traumatic brain injury - Concussion - Fort Campbell - Health - Conditions and Diseases

For many parents, letting go when a child leaves for college is difficult — more so, many say, than it was for in decades past.

Education - Colleges and Universities - United States - College - Two-Year Colleges

A leading virus expert urged health authorities around the world Sunday to stay vigilant even though the recent swine flu pandemic was less deadly than expected, warning that bird flu could spark the next global outbreak.

2009 flu pandemic - Pandemic - Influenza - Health - Infectious Diseases

The Los Angeles County sheriff has escalated his war of words against California medical marijuana dispensaries, saying as many as 97 percent operate as criminal enterprises.


Cannabis - Medical cannabis - Los Angeles County California - Sheriff - Law