Author: dangtuanthien

A new study of one hundred ninety-nine countries and territories confirmed what many people may have already noticed. People around the world are getting fatter. The study found that obesity has almost doubled since nineteen eighty. Majid Ezzati at Imperial College London led the research team. He says the results show that obesity, high blood …

The World Health Organization says alcohol abuse is the third leading cause of death and disability in the world. A new WHO report says the harmful use of alcohol kills two and one-half million people a year. And officials say action is needed to reduce the problem.The WHO released the “Global Status Report on Alcohol …

We started talking last week about how to decide if a common injury — a bleeding cut on a finger — requires medical attention. If the bleeding stops when you press on it for a few minutes, then you probably do not need a doctor. But if the injury is more serious, then you could …

Hospital emergency rooms treat injured fingers all the time. Without treatment, a bad cut can lead to permanent damage. But how should a person know when a bleeding cut is serious enough to require medical attention? We asked Dr. Martin Brown, chairman of the department of emergency medicine at Inova Alexandria Hospital in Virginia. First, …

The World Health Organization says it has reached a limit in its fight against diseases and disasters. Director-General Margaret Chan says the agency is “overextended” and faces “serious funding shortfalls.” Dr. Chan says the WHO is no longer operating “at the level of top performance that is increasingly needed, and expected.” She told the agency’s …

On January eighth in Tucson, Arizona, a gunman opened fire on a small crowd meeting outdoors with a congresswoman. Six people were killed and fourteen were wounded, including the representative, Gabrielle Giffords. The bullet traveled along the left side of her brain as it went in one side of her head and came out the …

Many people have low amounts of iron in their blood. But pregnant women need extra iron for their own health and their baby’s health. Iron is important to the development of a baby’s brain and central nervous system. In poor countries, however, providing all pregnant women with iron supplements can be a financial issue. Some …

We talked last week about ways to avoid cold-weather injuries. Today we are going to talk about emergency treatment of hypothermia.Hypothermia can be mild, moderate or severe. Mild hypothermia is something that most people in cold climates have experienced at one time or another. You feel so cold that your body starts to shake — …

Freezing weather can mean frostbite and hypothermia unless a person is prepared. Today we talk about how to stay warm, dry and safe. Frostbite is damage that happens when skin is exposed to extreme cold for too long. It mainly happens on the hands, feet, nose and ears.People with minor cases of frostbite that affect …

When parents go to work, their young children often spend the day in child care. That contact with other children can make it easier to get sick. But new research suggests that this might have a protective effect a few years later when children start school. A research team looked at data from a large …

Doctors currently identify autism disorders by observing behavior. Autism affects social and communication skills. It usually first appears in young children. Now, researchers in the United States think they have found a biological test for autism. A team from Harvard University in Massachusetts and the University of Utah developed it.The test uses an MRI or …

World AIDS Day was December first. This year, experts reported more signs of success in halting the AIDS epidemic. The number of AIDS-related deaths and the number of new infections are both decreasing. Michel Sidibe is the executive director of the joint United Nations program known as UNAIDS.She says today we can say that we …

The World Health Organization says the rising cost of health care is a struggle for people and governments around the world. The problem is greatest in countries where people must often pay directly for services. A new report says these costs push one hundred million people into poverty each year. Aging populations are one reason …

Delegates from around the world met in Uruguay in November to consider new ways to control tobacco. A World Health Organization treaty called the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control took effect five years ago. More than one hundred seventy governments have signed it. The treaty requires a number of efforts — like raising tobacco prices, …

An outbreak of cholera in Haiti continued to spread sickness and worry. Health officials worried that the capital could suffer a major outbreak of the disease. By the middle of November, most cases in Port-au-Prince were found in people who arrived in the city already sick. But health officials confirmed the first case in a …

Malaria kills about one million people a year and sickens another two hundred fifty million. Most of the deaths are in young children in Africa. Malaria causes twenty percent of childhood deaths in Africa. People become infected when they are bitten by mosquitoes carrying the malaria parasite. A new study estimates the possibility of ending …

A neighborhood barbershop might seem to some Americans like a thing of the past. Today men often get their hair cut at the same salons as women. But the traditional barbershop still holds a special place in black culture. A barbershop is a place of trust where men can talk about things they might not …

No one wants a pilot to make a mistake. This is why flight crews are trained in teamwork and communication. Now a study finds hospitals that trained their operating room teams had a lower rate of surgical deaths than other hospitals. The study is in the Journal of the American Medical Association. It involved more …

Years ago, scientists began to learn that certain parts of the brain had certain duties. For example, one part was responsible for breathing; another dealt with the sense of smell. Scientists thought our brains could not change. But then they discovered that the brain could sometimes reorganize itself when conditions required. Josef Rauschecker is a …

Rachel Valltos and Evan Sapperstein are dentists who share an office and a life together near Washington, D.C. In nine years of marriage, they have built a successful dental practice and a family. Rachel and Evan laugh about the last time they argued at home. He wanted her attention. So did one of their three …