Health & Wellness
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Health Dialogues
This special series from KQED Public Radio's The California Report engages listeners in a discussion of California health care issues important to the underserved: children, low-income residents, minorities, people with disabilities, immigrants, and rural and migrant worker communities.
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Forum | Friday, Jun 14, 2013, 9:00 AM

Supreme Court: Human Genes Cannot Be Patented
In a unanimous decision, the U.S. Supreme Court decided this week that human genes cannot be patented. A biotech company, Myriad Genetics, held patents on two genes linked to breast and ovarian cancer. But the Court ruled that because the company had simply isolated the genes and had not synthetically created something new, the patents were not valid. The company argued that allowing patents on human genes incentivizes research. But critics said it would hamper science by raising the cost of testing. What does the decision mean for medical and scientific research?
The California Report | Friday, Jun 14, 2013, 8:50 AM

Biotech Industry Not Sweating Supreme Court Ruling
California's multi-billion-dollar biotech industry is taking in Thursday's landmark Supreme Court ruling on human genes. In short, naturally occurring genes are not patentable. It's a major shift for biotech companies -- but it's one they're prepared for.
The California Report | Thursday, Jun 13, 2013, 8:50 AM

State Bill Aims to Close Obamacare Loophole
Under the Affordable Care Act, firms that employ 50 people or more must provide full-time workers with health insurance, or face a fine of $2,000 to $3,000 a head per year. So what's to stop employers from cutting worker hours to force them onto either Medi-Cal or the new state insurance exchanges? One bill moving through Sacramento attempts to close the loophole for California's largest employers.
Forum | Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013, 9:00 AM

New Budget Boosts Education, Restores Some Social Services
Governor Jerry Brown and legislative leaders have reached an agreement on a $96 billion spending plan, five days ahead of the deadline to pass a state budget. Many Democrats had hoped this year's budget surplus would mean major restorations in services for the poor -- but they ultimately agreed to the governor's more conservative budget projections. The budget uses a controversial new formula to allocate education funding, steering more money to districts where over half of students are poor or learning English. The budget plan also partially restores mental health services and adult dental care for the poor.
Recent Posts from Health Dialogues Blog: Our State of Health
Wilmington | Jul 23, 2012
Starting a New Life and Putting a Stop to Health Problems
Posted by Anabell Romero
“Good morning!” says Silvia Cruz as she greets women who enter her nutrition center.
“It’s five dollars for a shake and the zumba class, or three dollars for the zumba class only,” she says as she’s collecting
the money and putting it into a metal box.
Five years ago when Cruz and her husband Roberto Garcia came to the United States, they never imagined they would have their
own business. The couple has been married for 25 years. After living a comfortable and stable life in Mexico, Roberto abruptly
lost his job.
San Bernardino | Jun 13, 2012
Unmet Need of Homeless Youth in San Bernardino
Posted by Bobbi Albano
Although they are difficult to count, Terrance Stone, CEO of Young Visionaries homeless youth shelter estimates there are
25,000 homeless kids in San Bernardino County at any given time. The California Homeless Youth Project agrees. "Homeless youth
are highly mobile and often try hard to avoid detection and contact with adults. ... This means they are often not counted
during annual homeless surveys." During 2008-09, 81,000 services were provided by federally-funded runaway and homeless youth
programs in California. While these services ranged from beds to street outreach contacts, it isn't known how many homeless
kids received no services.
There are only two shelters in San Bernardino County for kids who have run away from home, have been kicked out or are living
on the streets. Young Visionaries, which has space available to house just four children at any time, is located in the city
of San Bernardino. The other shelter, Our House, is in Redlands and has room for twelve homeless youth.
Greater Oroville | Jun 12, 2012
BEC Investigates Dioxin in Oroville Eggs
Posted by Marley Zalay
Health Care
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Infections From Contaminated Injections Can Lurk Undetected
Some people exposed to tainted steroid injections in last year's meningitis outbreak had slow-moving spinal infections that escaped detection until they had MRI scans. Many of the people didn't have symptoms, or thought the pain was due to their longstanding back problems.
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Vaccine Against HPV Has Cut Infections In Teenage Girls
A vaccine against a virus that causes cervical cancer has cut infections among teenage girls by over half in the first four years of use, scientists report. Only about one-third of girls in that age group have received the recommended shots.
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House Passes Bill That Would Ban Abortions After 20 Weeks
The legislation is one of the most far-reaching abortion bills in decades and follows the May murder convictions of Philadelphia abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell. The bill, which would ban nearly all abortions starting 20 weeks after fertilization, is unlikely to ever become law.
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Patients Lead The Way As Medicine Grapples With Apps
Smartphone apps can help count calories or detect a heart attack. People are embracing them to manage many aspects of their health. But medical apps are largely unregulated now, so there's no easy way to be sure which ones are trustworthy and which ones aren't.













