Anthrax Researcher Threatened Co-Workers as FBI Closed In

Staff / Truthdig Aug 3, 2008 Friends' and relatives' memories of microbiologist Bruce E. Ivins, who apparently committed suicide last week as he became a top suspect in the 2001 anthrax attacks, differ greatly from the image of him invoked by the stories that have emerged about his threatening behavior in recent months. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Study: U.S. HIV Infection Rates Drastically Underreported

Staff / Truthdig Aug 3, 2008 The United States is in far worse shape when it comes to HIV infection rates than researchers previously thought, according to a new study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that attributes the whopping 40 percent adjustment to more precise research methods. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Scientist Targeted in Anthrax Probe Dies in Apparent Suicide

Staff / Truthdig Aug 1, 2008 The apparent suicide of 62-year-old scientist Bruce E. Ivins on Tuesday shook up his co-workers at the military biodefense labs in Maryland where he'd worked for nearly two decades. But the significance of his death extended beyond personal tragedy when it emerged that Ivins was about to be prosecuted by the Justice Department for alleged involvement in the anthrax attacks of 2001. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Herpes Is Common Among New Yorkers

Staff / Truthdig Jun 9, 2008 Twenty-six percent of adult New Yorkers are infected with the virus that causes genital herpes. That's seven points above the national average. A new study by the New York Department of Health and Mental Hygiene found that the disease is more common among women, African-Americans and gays. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Bad News, Abstinence Fans

Staff / Truthdig Mar 12, 2008 If ever there was irrefutable evidence that abstinence education doesn't quite work, this is it. A new study from the Centers for Disease Control finds that at least one in four U.S. teenage girls is infected with a sexually transmitted disease. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

A Blow Against the Common Cold?

Staff / Truthdig Feb 18, 2008 It turns out a little echinacea might go a long way toward preventing a cold and reducing the duration of a cold, especially when combined with vitamin C. A new study published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases analyzed 14 other studies and flies in the face of other research that has showed no positive effect from echinacea. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

U.N. Downsizes AIDS Estimate

Staff / Truthdig Nov 20, 2007 Finally, some good news in the world (relatively speaking): AIDS scientists at the United Nations are ready to announce that they have been overestimating the scale of the viral epidemic for quite some time now, and that the spread of AIDS has actually been decelerating over the last decade. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Paying More and Dying Sooner

Eugene Robinson / Truthdig Nov 13, 2007 Not only are Rudy Giuliani's figures about prostate cancer survival rates in the United States and Britain wildly misleading, but he's also wrong on his general point: that a single-payer system, of the kind that Republicans call "socialized" medicine, inevitably would deliver inferior care. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Giuliani’s Health Care Cherry-Picking

Eugene Robinson / Truthdig Nov 2, 2007 In slamming Clinton-style reforms, "America's mayor" uses data in a way that shows disregard for the truth. Does that remind you of any other famous politician? Maybe the one in the Oval Office? Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

White House ‘Eviscerated’ Climate Report

Staff / Truthdig Oct 24, 2007 When Dr. Julie Gerberding, director of the Centers for Disease Control, went before Congress to testify on the effects of global warming on Americans' health, she was about 10 pages lighter than planned. According to a source within the CDC, the White House "eviscerated" Gerberding's prepared remarks, slashing 10 of the original 14 pages. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

AIDS Vaccine Disappoints

Staff / Truthdig Sep 22, 2007 A promising AIDS vaccine developed by Merck has proven unsuccessful in a major international trial. It's a huge setback, not just because this particular vaccine was further along than others, but because it used a new strategy shared by a number of alternatives. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Ignoring the Other Victims of 9/11

Marie Cocco / Truthdig Sep 11, 2007 When the National Guard helicoptered her husband, Mark, to Staten Island to work as a wireless technician setting up a communications network for thousands of emergency workers who were descending upon Lower Manhattan on Sept. 11, 2001, Jeanmarie DeBiase did not know this would begin the unraveling. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )