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Archives
Mapping the Brain's DNA
By Virginia Prescott on Tuesday, March 31, 2009.
We already know quite a bit about how the brain works – using brain imaging technology and molecular biology, we can see which synapses fire during certain types of mental activity. But that’s still a limited understanding of what’s happening in the brain. Now, Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen is investing heavily in a radical new endeavor – to create a roadmap of our brains’ genetic code.
Here to break it down for us is science writer and frequent guest Jonah Lehrer. His latest book is How We Decide.
Jonah Lehrer in Wired: "Scientists Map the Brain, Gene by Gene"
(Photo courtesy Reigh LeBlanc via Flickr/Creative Commons)
Is it harmful to live near a gas station?
By EarthTalk on Monday, March 30, 2009.
Gas stations can pose significant hazards, such as carbon monoxide from car exhaust, groundwater pollution from oil and gas leaking into the ground or from leaking underground storage tanks. (Getty Images)
Keeping Private Health Data Private
By Virginia Prescott on Tuesday, March 24, 2009.
We’ve talked about Google, Microsoft and WebMD services that encourage people to upload, store and manage their medical records online. The upside: you and your doctors can have immediate access to your medical information when you need it. The downside: security. As it turns out, voluntarily uploading our health records may be the least of our worries. Researchers at Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business found that plenty of doctors, hospitals and health care organizations are inadvertently leaking our data online for us.
Dr. Eric Johnson is director of the Center for Digital Strategies at Tuck, and he and his team went online and found reams of personal health records in public cyberspace. He joins us to talk about what they found.
Center for Digital Strategies: "Data Hemorrhages in the Health-Care Sector"
Center for Digital Strategies: "Information Leakage in the Extended Enterprise"
Eric Johnson discusses "Inadvertent Disclosures" on YouTube:
(Photo courtesy john-norris via Flickr/Creative Commons)
Stimulus Latest: $3.9 million in Hospital Aid
By Jon Greenberg on Friday, March 20, 2009.HHS Makes $3.9 Million in Recovery Act Funding Available to New Hampshire to Support Hospitals Serving Uninsured, Vulnerable Americans -- HHS press release
The boilerplate:
Families on Disabilities Wait List Protest Budget Cuts
By Elaine Grant on Wednesday, March 18, 2009.The state provides services to about 10,000 adults with developmental disabilities.
But hundreds more are stuck on waiting lists.
And the governor’s budget has zeroed out funding that was supposed to end those lists.
NHPR health reporter Elaine Grant has more.
FCC's Rural Healthcare Program is Still Delayed
By Chris Jensen on Friday, March 13, 2009.Some North Country officials are blaming the federal bureaucracy for a delay in a new healthcare program.
In 2006 the Federal Communications Commission announced a plan to greatly improve communication between doctors and other healthcare providers in rural areas. But nearly 3 years later, some officials are astonished the program is not underway.
NHPR correspondent Chris Jensen has the story.
New Hampshire Scientists, Advocates React to Obama's Stem Cell Order
By Elaine Grant on Tuesday, March 10, 2009.Medical researchers and patient advocates across New Hampshire welcomed President Obama’s executive order lifting the ban on federal funding for stem cell research.
But not everyone in the state is happy about it.
NHPR health reporter Elaine Grant has more.
State Medicaid Running a Deficit
By Dan Gorenstein on Monday, March 9, 2009.The state’s Medicaid Director says due to increased caseloads, her department is nine million dollars over budget. At this rate, she told House budget writers, the program could run out of money by next month.
New Hampshire Public Radio’s Dan Gorenstein reports.
How America Got Stuffed
By Virginia Prescott on Monday, March 2, 2009.
When Americans began gobbling up frozen TV dinners in 1953, they began a steady sacrifice of taste for convenience. The floodgates flew open for fast food burgers, potato chips, battered steaks, double gulp soft drinks and supersize meals. Today, researchers report that Americans are collectively carrying around an extra 4 billion pounds of weight. Obsesity is one of the greatest health concerns for children. Worse still, an estimated one in three children born at the turn of the 21st century are expected to become diabetic at some point in their lives.
How did it get so bad? Hank Cardello is a former executive at some of the world’s largest food and beverage companies. After a cancer scare in 1995, Cardello began reevaluating his own health, and that of the nation. In his new book, Stuffed, he gives us an insider’s view of food industry pratices and marketing, and takes up the consumer’s role in fattening up our nation.
Los Angeles Times: "Who's making America fat?"
ABCNews.com: Excerpt From Hank Cardello's 'Stuffed'
(Photo courtesy VirtualErn via Flickr/Creative Commons)
