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Elan strikes more deals, agrees second share buyback
By Padraic Halpin DUBLIN (Reuters) - Irish drug firm Elan agreed on Monday to buy two private drug firms, spin-off its one experimental drug and buy back more shares to give a firmer idea of how the company will be reconfigured as shareholders weigh up a takeover bid. The Irish company has rejected a $5.7 billion bid from U.S. investment firm Royalty Pharma and is trying to convince shareholders to do the same by returning cash and going on a spending spree that began with a $1 billion royalties deal just a week ago. ...
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Putting group fitness classes in the proper light
By Dorene Internicola NEW YORK (Reuters) - Fitness experts are shining a new light on group classes from Zumba to yoga because they believe the right lighting can transform the four walls of a fitness studio from a dance party to a meditation space, and back again. "Because of the theatrical nature of group fitness classes, lighting is key to differentiate programming," said Donna Cyrus, senior vice president of programming at Crunch fitness centers. ...
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Childhood ADHD tied to obesity decades later
By Genevra Pittman NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Boys who are diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in elementary school are more likely to grow up to be obese adults than those who don't have the condition, a new study suggests. Researchers surveyed two groups of 41-year-old men and found those with a history of ADHD were 19 pounds heavier than their non-ADHD counterparts, on average. The findings are consistent with past studies that looked only at children or only at adults and linked ADHD to extra pounds, researchers said. ...
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Newer whooping cough vaccine not as protective
By Genevra Pittman NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A newer version of the whooping cough vaccine doesn't protect kids as well as the original, which was phased out in the 1990s because of safety concerns, according to a new study. During a 2010-2011 outbreak of whooping cough in California, researchers found that youth who had been vaccinated with the newer, so called acellular vaccine were six times more likely to catch whooping cough than those who had received a series of the older whole-cell vaccine. "This is an ongoing saga," said Dr. H. ...
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Consumer group flags high SPF ratings on sunscreen
WASHINGTON (AP) — Sunbathers headed to the beach this summer will find new sunscreen labels on store shelves that are designed to make the products more effective and easier to use. But despite those long-awaited changes, many sunscreens continue to carry SPF ratings that some experts consider misleading and potentially dangerous, according to a consumer watchdog group.
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Indonesia's nationwide healthcare plan stumbles at first hurdle
By Randy Fabi and Nilufar Rizki JAKARTA (Reuters) - When a sick Indonesian baby died after 10 hospitals in Jakarta turned her family away in February, critics blamed a pilot health insurance scheme that had overwhelmed the city's public hospitals. The program, introduced in November, gave health insurance to around 5 million people in Jakarta categorized as poor. Long queues quickly formed at already stretched hospital emergency rooms as many patients, some who were not even ill, sought to take advantage of being covered for the first time. ...
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Fate of LA pot shops left to voters
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles politicians have struggled for more than five years to regulate medical marijuana, trying to balance the needs of the sick against neighborhood concerns that pot shops attract crime.
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Chimps in Uganda: Resilience
Chimps in Uganda: Resilience
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What do we eat? New food map will tell us
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Do your kids love chocolate milk? It may have more calories on average than you thought.
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Greying China taps rural elderly to care for those even older
By Li Hui and Maxim Duncan QIANTUN, China (Reuters) - Two years short of 70, Zhang Guosheng spends his days caring for an 81-year-old fellow villager - washing his clothes, bringing meals to his bed, and keeping him company - a routine he'll keep up until he himself needs the type of care he is now giving. "Living here is better than staying at home alone. We help each other and have a common language," said the spritely Zhang, an enthusiastic dancer. "We are very happy here. ...
