Fetal Tissue Research Uncovers New Information About Zika | ThinkProgress

New medical research has quickly advanced doctors’ understanding of how the Zika virus infects a fetus and how to detect its presence much earlier in a woman’s pregnancy. These findings — released Wednesday in The New England Journal of Medicine — would have been impossible to uncover without the help of one crucial, yet controversial, resource: tissue collected from an aborted fetus infected by Zika...
http://thinkprogress.org/health/2016/03/31/3765233/fetal-tissue-zika-study/

FDA Updates Label For Abortion Drug, Making Access Easier In Some States

"The updated label is more aligned with evidence-based medicine and has the potential to expand abortion access for Ohio women," Chrisse France, executive director of the Preterm clinic in Ohio, said in a statement. "We are pleased to announce that as of today we will be offering medication abortion to more women, with fewer required visits."... 
http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/03/30/472413911/fda-updates-label-for-abortion-drug-making-access-easier-in-some-states

And Now the Good News #182: 3/29/2016

Learn more about the stories featured in this video at the following sources:
 “Sleep Tight, Fruit Fly – New Gene Identified” http://goo.gl/Etmbb4
 “New Catalyst is Three Times Better at Splitting Water” https://goo.gl/KDvsLT
 “New Findings in Humans Provide Encouraging Foundation for Upcoming AIDS Vaccine Clinical Trial” https://goo.gl/o88wjc
Interview:
https://youtu.be/gJGKFh9X2wM

Study: vaccine refusers helped spark recent measles and whooping cough outbreaks - Vox

Measles and whooping cough, two infectious diseases US public health officials had gotten pretty good at preventing, have made a disturbing comeback in recent years...
http://www.vox.com/2016/3/15/11239858/whooping-cough-measles-vaccines-outbreak

Homeopathy - Con or Cure / Enemies of Reason (Richard Dawkins)

I was amazed since my parents have always used homeopathic medication for hayfever and other allergies. When I heard about the dilution applied in these medications I was stunned...
Interview:
https://youtu.be/E0-NalmRSl8

And Now the Good News #178: 3/1/2016

Learn more about the stories featured in this video at the following sources:

“UNC-Chapel Hill researchers make groundbreaking discovery, use skin cells to kill cancer”
http://goo.gl/hqVQWG

“Solar cells as light as a soap bubble”
http://goo.gl/Yr7MhT

“Small study finds immunotherapy improves cognition in patients with schizophrenia”
http://goo.gl/yTVIX8
Interview:
https://youtu.be/GMtUc9L0LDw

Randi's Challenge to Homeopathy Manufacturers and Retail Pharmacies

Skeptic James Randi challenges sellers of scam medications as hundreds stage worldwide "overdose" on homeopathic pills

Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.—To expose a scam industry that endangers and rips off millions of consumers a year, world-renowned conjuror, escape artist, and skeptic James Randi has put one million dollars on the line.

In a video statement released at 10:23 a.m. (ET) today, Randi joined hundreds of consumer advocates in more than 25 countries in exposing so-called homeopathic remedies—scam medications with no active ingredients that are sold by major retailers with no warning to customers. Demonstrators around the world swallowed homeopathic products by the handful, in a worldwide day of action inspired by a lecture by James Randi in which he downed an entire bottle of homeopathic sleeping pills to show they had no effect.

In his message, Randi issued a one-million-dollar challenge to the manufacturers of homeopathic products to prove their claims, and challenged major drug retailers like CVS, Rite-Aid, and Walgreens to stop tricking consumers into paying real money for fake medicine.

"Consumers have the right to know what they're buying," Randi said. "No one should walk out of a drugstore with a homeopathic product without knowing these basic facts: there is no credible evidence that the product does what it says; there is not one bit—not a single atom—of the claimed "active ingredient" in the package; and no U.S. health agency has tested or approved the product. It should be a crime for retail corporations to profit by denying the public this critical information about the products on their shelves."
Interview:
https://youtu.be/izxPEn3lvBY

And Now the Good News #177: 2/23/2016

Learn more about the stories featured in this video at the following sources:

“Fossil analysis pushes back human split from other primates by two million years”
http://goo.gl/pEi6vJ

“Neanderthals mated with modern humans much earlier than previously thought, study finds”
http://goo.gl/GxnQtv

“Fewer heart problems in people who drink moderately but often”
http://goo.gl/sgrcXL
https://youtu.be/Hn8FL8u04_4

Medical Neglect in the Name of God -- part 1 (Seth Andrews, The Thinking Atheist)

There are two words that, too often, mean the difference between life and death: Religious. Exemption. Individuals and families who reject necessary medical care in favor of prayer and adherence to strict church restrictions often pay with their lives, or the lives of their children. Rita Swan is the director of CHILD, INC, and she has firsthand experience with this. Rita has since dedicated her life to child advocacy and the fight to protect children from (often well-meaning) parents who keep them far from hospital care, and far from the health solutions they desperately need. It's a difficult subject, but a necessary discussion about faith, parental responsibility, and the need for real-world solutions to real-world problems. This is part one of a two-part show on this subject. Part two features Dr. Paul Offit, author of the book, "Bad Faith: When Religious Belief Undermines Modern Medicine," which airs February 2, 2016. CHILD, INC LINKS:
http://www.childrenshealthcare.org
http://www.idahochildren.org
Interview:
http://www.thethinkingatheist.com/podcast/medical-neglect-in-the-name-of-god--part-1-of-2-with-rita-swan

Homeopathy found to be effective for 0 out of 68 illnesses - Times of India

A total of 57 systematic reviews, containing the 176 individual studies, focused on 68 different health conditions - and found there to be no evidence homeopathy was more effective than placebo on any...
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/science/Homeopathy-found-to-be-effective-for-0-out-of-68-illnesses/articleshow/51066514.cms

Hightower: Big Pharma Identified 7,000 Govt Officials They Need to Control to Run Their Price Gouging Operation

The industry's spending millions to protect you from public officials who might stop them from overcharging you...
http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/hightower-big-pharma-identified-7000-govt-officials-they-need-control-run-their

REVEALED: Women endure prolonged miscarriages thanks to Michigan Catholic hospital’s abortion ban

As a result, the report claims, several of the women suffered infection or emotional trauma, or had to undergo unnecessary surgery. None of the women were pregnant beyond 24 weeks, when an infant can survive outside the womb...
http://www.rawstory.com/2016/02/revealed-women-endure-prolonged-miscarriages-thanks-to-michigan-catholic-hospitals-abortion-ban/comments/

Freezing: The New Science Of Cold (Tom Ashbrook, On Point)

We say “don’t freeze to death” when people head out into real cold. And that’s a good idea. But we’re also captivated by the power of “frozen.” Frogs frozen stiff all winter that hop off, fresh and lively, in the spring. Bodies and brains frozen in hopes of reanimation. Athletes hitting the cryotank. Deep cold as a potential lifesaver in trauma and surgery. New techniques for bringing the nearly frozen-to-death back to life. This hour On Point, life, death, and the power of frozen. — Tom Ashbrook
Interview:
https://onpoint.wbur.org/2016/01/28/cold-science-freezing-ice

And Now the Good News #176: 2/16/2016

https://youtu.be/qc_zHI_yKIc

5 New Discoveries That Will Shake Up Our Understanding of Marijuana

New research shows marijuana may have more uses (and benefits) than we thought...
http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/5-new-discoveries-will-shake-our-understanding-marijuana

Will Pro-Life Lawmakers Support A New Bill To Prevent Infant Deaths? | ThinkProgress

Of all things, we should certainly be able to agree about saving infant’s lives...
http://thinkprogress.org/health/2016/02/12/3748704/moore-infant-mortality-bill/

When faith and health collide

Experts to address concerns about faith-healing.
http://www.cdapress.com/news/local_news/article_6f9ba321-fdb7-5958-b869-af64a1b42afd.html

The Consequences Of Defunding Planned Parenthood | ThinkProgress

Defunding Planned Parenthood clinics leaves some poor women unable to access the most effective forms of birth control, according to a new study from Texas-based researchers...
http://thinkprogress.org/health/2016/02/04/3746113/study-texas-planned-parenthood-defund/

CDC alcohol recommendations criticized online

New guidelines from the CDC recommend women between 15 and 44 years old do not drink alcohol unless on birth control.
https://youtu.be/_nA9hduoLAU

Autism: A History (Tom Ashbrook, On Point)

Go back in the annals of history, read closely, and you will find people and behaviors that fit our modern understanding of autism. But until the middle of the 20th century, no one had given it a name that was more than an insult. Now, we are in the midst of what some call an epidemic of autism. But that may just be about our evolving understanding of the syndrome itself. A new history tells the story of how that understanding has deepened and spread. This hour On Point, how we’ve come to understand autism. — Tom Ashbrook
Interview:
https://onpoint.wbur.org/2016/01/21/history-autism-patient-zero