Health

PORTLAND, Maine - The federal government advises throwing most unused or expired medications into the trash instead of down the drain, but they can end up in the water anyway, a study from Maine suggests. Full Story »

BEIJING - The discovery has punched a 170-ton hole in China's promises to overhaul its food safety system. Officials say they've found yet another case where large amounts of tainted milk powder from the country's 2008 scandal that should have been destroyed were instead repackaged. Full Story »

ATLANTA - If the U.S. swine flu epidemic isn't over, it certainly looks as if it's on its last legs. While federal health officials are not ready to declare the threat has passed and the outbreak has run its course, they did report Friday that for the fourth week in a row, no states had widespread flu activity. U.S. cases have been declining since late October. Full Story »

• Slideshow: H1N1 Virus

MELBOURNE (AFP) - Australian researchers Wednesday said a new study supported the use of lap-band surgery for severely overweight teenagers after it found the procedure helped them lose 80 percent of their excess fat. Full Story »

HARRISBURG, Pa. - The intimate details of the sex life of a former state legislative aide became fodder for the jury in a public corruption trial Tuesday as he explained that his affair with an aide ended prematurely because he struggled to perform sexually. Full Story »

(HealthDay News) -- Here are the latest clinical trials, courtesy of ClinicalConnection.com: Full Story »

Most kids won't turn down a sugary treat, but it turns out some children prefer more intense sweetness than others. Those kids drawn to sweeter-than-cola drinks are also more likely to have a family history of alcoholism and depressive symptoms, a new study finds. Full Story »

TUESDAY, Feb. 9 (HealthDay News) -- After Medicare sweetened payments for simple office-based endoscopic procedures, doctors in one New York City practice performed many more in-office bladder biopsies, but the volume of hospital procedures stayed roughly the same, a new study finds. Full Story »

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Lung cancer is often dramatically different in women than it is in men, U.S. researchers reported on Tuesday in another study that suggests ways to tailor treatment for cancer patients. Full Story »

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Old tobacco smoke does more than simply make a room smell stale -- it can leave cancer-causing toxins behind, U.S. researchers reported on Monday. Full Story »

(HealthDay News) -- Children who attend day care are at increased risk of getting sick or acquiring an infection. Full Story »

LONDON (Reuters) - Global attention is turning away from the AIDS epidemic at just the wrong time and means a fresh wave of the disease could infect millions of people in high-risk countries, a leading expert said Friday. Full Story »

THURSDAY, Feb. 4 (HealthDay News) -- New research suggests that young children and teenagers with type 1 diabetes could benefit by using an artificial pancreas device to lower the risk of dangerously low blood sugar levels during sleep and help them control their disease. Full Story »

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. researchers have linked mothers' infection during pregnancy to asthma, the most common chronic disease among American children, in their offspring. Full Story »

TUESDAY, Feb. 9 (HealthDay News) -- Severely obese teens who received gastric banding surgery lost significantly more weight than those who made lifestyle changes such as dieting and exercise, Australian researchers report. Full Story »