Austin -- Gov. Rick Perry ordered Friday that schoolgirls in Texas must be vaccinated against the sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer, making Texas the first state to require the shots.
The girls will have to get Merck & Co.'s new vaccine against strains of the human papillomavirus, or HPV, that are responsible for most cases of cervical cancer.
Merck is bankrolling efforts to pass laws in state legislatures across the country mandating it Gardasil vaccine for girls as young as 11 or 12. It doubled its lobbying budget in Texas and has funneled money through Women in Government, an advocacy group made up of female state legislators around the country.
Nicholas Kittel and Sarina Locke
ABCFri, 02 Feb 2007 13:39 UTC
Have you ever worked with an office psychopath?
Is your boss or a colleague making your professional life almost unbearable?
And if you are in this situation, how do you go about getting help?
If these are questions that you have often found yourself pondering then you should probably speak with Dr. John Clarke.
Following the success of his guide Working With Monsters Dr. Clarke produced a smaller book called The Pocket Psycho, which hopes to teach those who fear they may be working with a psychopath how to cope.
Dr. Clarke told 666 ABC Canberra that he had always been aware of the office psychopath but it was not until he started receiving feedback from his first book that he begun to understand just how endemic the problem is.
Evelyn Pringle
OpEdNewsThu, 01 Feb 2007 14:55 UTC
The on-going legal battle over the disclosure of secret Eli Lilly documents that reveal the serious health risks associated with Zyprexa and the company's off-label promotion of the drug involves a matter of grave public concern.
But observers on the sidelines of this courtroom circus say the conduct of the judge in helping Lilly keep documents secret that give the specific details of an illegal marketing scheme that is literally killing people is almost as disturbing as the underlying acts.
BBCFri, 02 Feb 2007 13:01 UTC
A claim by Gambian President Yahya Jammeh that he can cure Aids in three days has been lambasted by a leading South African HIV/Aids specialist.
"I'm astonished. The danger of a president standing up [to say this] is shocking," Jerry Coovadia told the BBC.
Mr Jammeh said last month he had begun treating 10 patients on Thursdays with secret medicinal herb ingredients.
His health minister backs his claims, saying in trials so far patients had gained weight and physically improved.
Elizabeth Cohen
CNNFri, 02 Feb 2007 10:49 UTC
When Jean Horgan complained of heart palpitations, her doctor told her it was just nerves.
"I was told, 'Go home and take tranquilizers. You'll be fine, you're under stress.' "
Much later, another doctor -- one specializing in women's health -- ordered an echocardiogram, an ultrasound test of her heart. The EKG showed Horgan had a heart condition, and she needed medication.
China's military is harvesting organs from unwilling live prison inmates, mostly Falungong practitioners, for transplants on a large scale - including to foreign recipients- according to a study.
The report's authors - Canada's former secretary of state for the Asia Pacific region David Kilgour and human rights lawyer David Matas - implicated dozens of hospitals and jails throughout China in July, after a two-month investigation.
Just who owns a disease?
The Indonesian Government believes it's got ownership over its strain of avian flu and it's upset about a new bird flu vaccine developed by an Australian drug company.
Indonesia's Health Minister, Siti Fadillah Supari has told the ABC that the Indonesian strain of H5N1 is Indonesia's intellectual property, but it's been used by the Australian company, CSL, without Indonesia's permission.
Toni Clarke
ReutersWed, 31 Jan 2007 22:25 UTC
"Smokable" pain drugs promise faster action
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| ©Reuters
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| An undated handout photo shows a inhaler device from Alexza Pharmaceuticals. The Palo Alto, California-based company, is developing drugs which, like nicotine, passes through the lungs and into the bloodstream almost instantly.
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European Union legislators are due to meet with national authorities and consumer groups to discuss a proposed continentwide ban on smoking in restaurants, bars and public spaces.
EU Health Commissioner Markos Kyprianou presented a discussion paper Tuesday calling for the ban.
"Smoke-free policies are very popular with European citizens ...," Kyprianou said. "Every European deserves full protection from tobacco smoke."
Ta-Nehisi Paul Coates
TimeFri, 12 Jan 2007 11:07 UTC
Last spring I took the measure of my life, and decided that my favorite video game, World of Warcraft, had to go.
I was 30, and by most objective standards, was doing pretty well. I lived in an old building in majestic Harlem, with a lovely son and partner, and made a show of wearing a suit and fedora to a job that merely requested jeans and a collar. I had a joint bank account and dental insurance. Yet, on any given day, if you'd asked me about my greatest accomplishment, it invariably began with my second life - the one in which I was a seven-foot blue elf whose hobbies included firing crossbows, trapping wild boars and reenacting the video for Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean." In May I quit because I didn't want any illusions about which of my two lives were more important.
Comment: Educate yourself: Read Political Ponerology by Andrew M. Lobaczewski and other recommended books.