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December 13, 2012 Commercial space travel is becoming a reality. Now people who have longed to go into space can buy a ticket, if they've got the cash. But are they healthy enough to make the voyage?

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December 13, 2012 Communing with nature has long helped artists get their creative juices flowing. A neuroscientist wondered how backpacking trips without any electronic devices might change the way people solved problems.

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December 13, 2012 A fresh look at what makes people sick around the world finds that life expectancy has ticked up in the past 20 years. But people aren't necessarily in the best of health during those extra years. Chronic problems, like depression and pain, are on the rise.

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December 13, 2012 Nearly a third of pedestrians crossing some of Seattle's most dangerous intersections were doing something distracting at the same time. People texting were four times more likely to cross the street without looking both ways.

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December 12, 2012 In many parts of the world, there aren't enough doctors around to do post-mortems. Answers to a few questions can help a computer deduce what killed someone when an autopsy can't be done. The results can help guide decisions about public health.

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December 12, 2012 A roundup of the medical evidence by a group of independent researchers suggest that giving babies sugar water before injections can help comfort them. But the latest analysis is less enthusiastic about the approach than a previous review.

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December 12, 2012 Democrats are worried that cuts to the program will go beyond the impact on the people it serves. It will also affect the Affordable Care Act, which calls for expanding Medicaid to as many as 16 million more people. The states are watching closely because the federal government has promised it will pay most of those additional costs.

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December 11, 2012 Children between the ages of 9 and 15 who went on eating binges at least once a week were more likely to use marijuana or to show strong signs of depression as those who didn't. There's no proof of cause and effect, but the researchers say it's another reason parents and doctors should keep an eye on kids' eating habits.

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December 11, 2012 A new study concludes that a mobile app can help boost weight loss, if it's used as part of a more comprehensive strategy. The findings speak to the importance of blending two successful weight loss strategies: tracking and group support.

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December 11, 2012 KHNHealth insurers sometimes pay too much to a doctor or hospital for services rendered. When insurers look to get their money back, patients may be surprised to get stuck with the bills.

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December 11, 2012 In the Supreme Court's Affordable Care Act ruling this summer, it decided that states' plans for expansion of the Medicaid program should be optional. That led governors to ask if they could expand the program in part but still receive federal funding. The administration has said no.

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December 10, 2012 The barbs on porcupine quills help them pierce the skin. If the bumpy needles work so well for the big rodents, couldn't they they also help doctors and nurses giving injections? Designers of medical devices are looking to try the porcupine approach.

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December 10, 2012 About 10 years ago, some nasty bacteria became impervious to some common classes of antibiotics. Scientists have sequenced genome samples of this superbug from all over the world. The results helped them figured out how it emerged in the U.S. and then moved to Europe, Australia and Asia.

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