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January 9, 2013 Americans are sicker and die sooner than their counterparts in comparable nations. No single cause can account for the difference, but improving medical care will only help so much, as disparities can be traced to dietary choices, drugs and alcohol, guns, and even cars.

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January 9, 2013 An experimental drug developed to fight Alzheimer's disease partially reversed hearing loss caused by exposure to extremely loud sounds, researchers say. The results apply only to mice, but scientists are encouraged by the fact that the medicine caused new hair cells to grow in the animals' inner ears.

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January 9, 2013 Kids who play "advergames", created by food manufacturers to market their products, may eat more, and eat more junk food. In a study by Dutch researchers, the kids chose junk food even when the game featured fruit or other healthful choices.

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January 9, 2013 A chemical analysis funded by the Defense Department finds that some dietary supplements contain far more caffeine than the amount listed on their labels. Other energy-boosting supplements contain less caffeine than the labels claim.

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January 9, 2013 KPBSEncinitas, Calif., is celebrated by many as the yoga mecca of America. But when the spiritual discipline was recently incorporated in a local school, a group of parents quickly likened it to religious indoctrination. They worry the new model will be exported to schools across the country.

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January 8, 2013 Superstrains of gonorrhea, which are resistant to all antibiotics, have cropped up in Europe and Asia. Now Canadian doctors report the first failure in North America of the usual antibiotic for gonorrhea, leaving just one drug left to fight the sexually transmitted germ.

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January 8, 2013 Congress expanded the scope of the Americans With Disabilities Act a few years ago to include food allergies. Now the Justice Department is making institutions accommodate students by providing "safe" food and special meal plans.

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January 8, 2013 About 13 percent of U.S. women go on drinking binges each month, say officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The damage from binge drinking runs the gamut from death to unintended pregnancy. Public health officials say binge drinking can be curbed with greater awareness and thoughtful interventions.

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January 8, 2013 KHNWithout rules that spell out which health plan takes the lead, a young person who lives out of state and is covered by his parents' plan and a college health plan might run into trouble trying to get in-network care when far from hometown.

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January 8, 2013 Vaccination is still the best way to avoid getting sick, but it's not 100 percent protective. Some people may get infected with a strain of flu that isn't covered by this year's vaccine. For others, the shots just don't work.

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January 7, 2013 Economists have calculated that spending on health care continued to increase slowly in 2011, at a rate similar to the two previous years. Researchers point to the stagnant economy for holding back health inflation.

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January 7, 2013 Doctors' apparent willingness to prescribe brand-name drugs instead of generics in response to patients' requests is associated with their acceptance of free food from drugmakers, a study finds.

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January 7, 2013 Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell has approved regulations requiring clinics where abortions are performed to meet the same building codes as new hospitals. Abortion-rights groups say the regulations are unnecessary, but abortion-rights opponents say they're the only way to ensure that clinics are safe.

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