Fighting Swine Flu With Elmo, Obama

Staff / Truthdig Sep 2, 2009 As American schoolkids clamber back onto buses and funnel into classrooms, the federal government is working on ways to squelch the swine flu virus, which may not be as ferocious as health officials first feared but is proving to be pretty tenacious. President Obama, as well as a familiar red fuzzy friend, are on the case in this clip from The Associated Press. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

H1N1 Theory Reconsiders Origin

Staff / Truthdig Jun 24, 2009 A new theory puts the origin of the H1N1 virus not in Mexico, where right-wing anti-immigrant groups want it, but in Asia. Scientists explain that there has been no evidence demonstrating the virus in North American pigs, but plenty of evidence of a "sister virus" circulating in Asia. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Pope: Condoms Don’t Help in Fight Against AIDS

Staff / Truthdig Mar 18, 2009 On his way to his first visit to Africa, Pope Benedict XVI told attendant members of the press that he believes encouraging condom use not only doesn't help in the fight against AIDS, but actually worsens the situation. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

N.Y. Governor Gets Tough on Soft Drinks

Staff / Truthdig Dec 17, 2008 Want a soda with that? It'll cost you, if what you're after is a non-diet drink and you happen to be in New York, thanks to a controversial tax plan that Gov. David Paterson has cooked up to combat rising obesity rates in his home state. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

New Hope in the Fight Against AIDS

Staff / Truthdig Dec 1, 2008 World AIDS Day turns 20 today, and while we still don't have a vaccine, researchers continue to make lifesaving breakthroughs. A team at the World Health Organization in Geneva recently came up with a "thought experiment" that, according to a mathematical model, could end the AIDS epidemic in Africa in only a decade. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Google: ‘I’m Feeling Sicky’

Staff / Truthdig Nov 12, 2008 While worries over Google's "big brother" surveillance practices still worry many, a softer, more health-conscious side of the search giant is partnering with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The tool, "Google Flu Trends," uses the aggregate regional data obtained from flu-related searches to predict epidemics weeks before they can be diagnosed by traditional measures. 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 )

Bad News About Global AIDS Rate

Staff / Truthdig Jul 23, 2007 Even though the sense of urgency about HIV/AIDS appears to have dropped off in mainstream media and culture in recent years, the latest news about infection rates is far from favorable President Bush's adviser on HIV/AIDS, Dr Anthony Fauci, for one, reports that we're "losing the numbers game" with respect to new infections around the globe . Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Andy Borowitz: Best Medicine for Flu Is a Dose of Blame

Andy Borowitz / Truthdig May 6, 2006 "Once state and local governments have been successfully blamed, the White House will ensure that others, such as congressional Democrats and illegal immigrants, are blamed as well." Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )