The father who came to our family-medicine clinic with his young daughter seemed concerned. The girl, he said, had become a voracious consumer of books. But not in a good way. “She eats them,” he explained, describing how she tore away the pages, one by one, and put them in her mouth, munching and chewing on them. Read full article > >

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Pica, the compulsion to eat dirt and other oddities, is found in many cultures

President Obama’s health care law is expected to expand health insurance to 32 million Americans over the next decade. Health policy experts anticipate that the wave of new insurance subscribers will lead to a spike in demand for medical services. Read full article > >

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Health insurance expansion looming, primary care turf battle heats up

President Obama’s health-care law is expected to expand health insurance to 32 million Americans over the next decade. Health policy experts anticipate that the wave of new insurance subscribers will lead to a spike in demand for medical services. Read full article > >

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Nurse practitioners look to fill gap with expected spike in demand for health services

The government needs to tackle a “failing food system” by linking its policies on health, environment and education, MPs say.

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MPs call for wider food strategy

In about two dozen states across the country, the insurance marketplaces at the heart of the 2010 health-care law remain in limbo, with Republican governors or lawmakers who oppose the statute refusing to act until the Supreme Court decides its constitutionality. Read full article > >

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Republican state officials stall on setting up health insurance marketplaces

Efforts in Washington State to address a resurgent childhood ailment have been hobbled by years of recession-induced cutbacks that have hollowed out public health departments.

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Whooping Cough Epidemic Hits Washington State

PITTSBURGH — Thursday afternoon, before batting practice, Davey Johnson gathered the Washington Nationals in their clubhouse at PNC Park. The manager told his players he remained behind them , that he trusted them to pull out of their offensive tailspin and a three-game losing streak. Johnson wanted to ease their minds, and he had chosen a surefire moment for building confidence. In a few hours, he would send Stephen Strasburg to the mound. Read full article > >

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Nationals vs. Pirates: Stephen Strasburg strikes out 13 to snap Washington out of slump

Will make decision by June 15.

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FDA Considers HIV Prevention Med

A panel of US health experts recommends formal approval of Truvada, a drug to prevent HIV infection in healthy people.

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US panel approves anti-HIV pill

With 50,000 new H.I.V. cases each year in the United States, government advisers said Truvada, an antiviral medicine, should be approved for use in healthy people at high risk of infection.

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F.D.A. Panel Backs Preventive Use of H.I.V. Drug Truvada

As a culture, we’re unhealthily obsessed with our mothers. For the past several months, I have been deluged with e-mails wanting to know if I have made plans yet for Mother’s Day. Only a few of these have been from my mother. Read full article > >

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Alexandra Petri: Time magazine and our mommy porn fixation

For the first time, a panel of experts has recommended that the Food and Drug Administration approve a drug for preventing infection with HIV. The panel told the agency Thursday that it should approve the drug Truvada for HIV prevention in men who have sex with men, HIV-negative partners of people with HIV and “other individuals at risk for acquiring HIV through sexual activity.” Read full article > >

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FDA panel recommends approval of drug to prevent HIV infection

Two studies released Thursday by the CDC suggest that public-health messages about the dangers of tanning booths and sunburns are lost on a substantial number of Americans. In one study , the CDC and the National Cancer Institute looked at self-reported sun-exposure data for 5,000 people age 18 to 29 collected through the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) for the years 2000, 2003, 2005, 2008 and 2010. Of those participating in the most recent survey, a whopping 50.1 percent of all adults reported having had at least one sunburn during the preceding 12 months. Among whites, the number was worse: 65.6 percent, or about two-thirds, had been sunburned at least once during that time. Read full article > >

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Half of all Americans report sunburns

The ancient Mayans were masters of time, keepers of good calendars. And now we have one of their timekeepers’ workrooms to prove it. In a striking find, archaeologists in Guatemala report the discovery of a small building whose walls display not only a stunningly preserved mural of a brightly adorned Mayan king, but also calendars that destroy any notion that the Mayans predicted the end of the world in 2012. Read full article > >

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Mayan prophecy: The world won’t end, as a newfound calendar goes on and on and on

Health secretary Andrew Lansley is defending the decision to veto a Freedom of Information order to publish the risk assessment of the NHS overhaul.

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Lansley defending NHS risks veto