Health and Science

Rose Madeline Mula writes: Getting old. I absolutely hate it. There is nothing positive about the so-called golden years. Even all the senior discounts can't begin to compensate for all the disadvantages — the aches and pains, the wrinkles, the unflattering shoes my bunions force me to wear, the fact that all the names in my little black book have 'M.D.' after them, the fact that I still have a little black book because I can't figure out how the calendar on my smart phone works. more »

"It is alarming to think my ruby red nail polish could come with a side of toxic ingredients that could ultimately end up in my body. We cannot control far too many exposures to harmful chemicals in our world today, but each of us can become informed and spread the word, support legislation that protects our health, and make smarter choices whenever possible. By voting with our dollars we can shift the marketplace towards safer, healthier products ... beginning with my own bottle of bright, glossy nail polish." more »

"Since we last wrote a breast cancer screening guideline, there have been the publication of quite a number of new studies that inform us about the benefits and drawbacks of screening with mammography, so the American Cancer Society commissioned a detailed evidence review by an external expert group to review all of this new data which was then presented to our American Cancer Society guideline committee," said Dr. Richard Wender, Society's Chief Cancer Control Officer. "That committee then considered all of this evidence over a period of months, did the very difficult job of balancing the benefits and harms, and that's what led to the change in the guidelines that we're publishing now." more »

One case: New York State Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced [in August] that his office has secured settlement agreements with five defendants in a False Claims Act case that will return more than $8 million to the Medicaid and Medicare programs. The agreements resolve claims that SpecialCare Hospital Management Corporation defrauded Medicaid and Medicare by illegally referring patients to unlicensed drug and alcohol treatment programs at Columbia Memorial Hospital in Hudson, and St. Joseph's Medical Center in Yonkers, in exchange for kickbacks. more »