Not all fat cells are created equal. White cells store globs of fat and make bellies jiggle. Brown cells burn fat and keep mice slim. In between is a type of fat called “beige,” which may be a key to fighting the bulge. This prospect is so trendy that a beige-fat expert was featured in…
Fifteen years ago, Georgia and other states settled lawsuits against the nation’s major tobacco companies to recover tobacco-related health costs. Total payments for the states were huge –– estimated at $246 billion over the first 25 years. This fiscal year, Georgia will receive $347 million in tobacco settlement funds and the state’s tobacco taxes, according to a…
Moving new discoveries from the science lab to the doctor’s office can take decades and cost hundreds of millions of dollars. And although it is not possible to eliminate this process, people who straddle the worlds of science and medicine may be able to speed it up. Consider the task of translating laboratory findings about…
Georgia health care had more than its share of drama and surprises in 2013. Some of the big stories were linked to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare. This far-reaching federal law, passed in early 2010, was still generating changes and attracting controversy as if it were brand new. But the ACA…
A single phone call can be a calling to make a connection and build an everlasting bond. Two years ago, I received such a call from Sarah, a young mother of two children. Her words came slowly, and the tone of her voice lowered. She began to sniffle and started telling me about her daughter….
A report released Tuesday ranks Georgia at the bottom of states on protecting against infectious disease threats. The report by the Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation found that three states — Georgia, Nebraska and New Jersey — met just two of 10 key indicators on infectious disease outbreaks. The top…
Dakota Dyer was a good student, a starting defensive end on his Bremen, Ga., football team, and had no history of mental illness or drug abuse, his father says. But in March 2012, Dakota, 14, was repeatedly asked on Facebook to try a “new legal weed,’’ says his father, Lance Dyer. Dakota finally tried the…
The nation’s rate of maternal mortality has been steadily rising, and nowhere is that increase more evident than in Georgia. Georgia has the highest rate of maternal deaths among the 50 states, according to public health officials here. The Georgia estimate of 35 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in 2011 has risen from 20.5…
Thanksgiving is a time when most Americans enjoy a great feast. But even as the focus this week is on eating and fellowship, there’s a concern that an increasing number of people in Georgia and the nation are facing “food insecurity.’’ The term describes people who don’t have consistent, dependable access to enough food. Worry…
Last month, a prominent former Georgian had a mammogram in front of millions of people – a test that eventually produced stunning results. Amy Robach, 40, an anchor on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” didn’t figure she had cancer. It was her first mammogram, and she had been putting it off. “In fact, I would have…