Health
Finishing triathlon may be just a start
Joel Tobecksen waits at Monroe Harbor to start his first triathlon, his stomach as choppy as the murky green waters of Lake Michigan.
A whale of a good upbringing
The beluga whale habitats have been dark and eerily silent lately. Normally noisy and crowded with visitors during the day, the underwater viewing areas are empty except for a few researchers who stand at the windows 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, noting every move made by a wee, gray male beluga.
Cigarette nicotine content rises
The amount of nicotine in most cigarettes rose an average of 10 percent between 1998 and 2004, according to a new study.
3 towns prodded to bar smoking
With eight Lake County communities already banning smoking in public places, health officials worked Tuesday to persuade North Chicago, Highwood and Green Oaks to consider similar ordinances over bacon and eggs in Vernon Hills.
Workers' top worries: Health-care costs, lagging pay, retirement
Working women say they're most worried about rising health-care costs, their pay keeping up with the cost of living and dwindling retirement benefits, a study released this month by the AFL-CIO shows.
South rises again--to top of nation's obesity rankings
The United States continues to get fatter, with Mississippi and other Southern states leading the way, according to a report issued Tuesday by the advocacy group Trust for America's Health.
Restrictions sought on skin lighteners
The Food and Drug Administration proposed a ban Tuesday on over-the-counter sales of skin-lightening products, saying possible health risks cannot justify their being sold without a prescription.
Simpson speechless as album launches
Talk about bad timing. At the start of a media blitz to support her new album, "A Public Affair," Jessica Simpson is on vocal rest.
More Americans left uninsured
The ranks of Americans without medical coverage grew by 1.3 million people last year, the Census Bureau reported Tuesday.
Vets at Arlington Park also getting a workout
Wings on Springs, a 5-year-old gelding, barely flinched as veterinarian Dawn Folker-Calderon slid her hand along the horse's foreleg, checking for soreness by flexing the joints and squeezing the muscles, tendons and ligaments.
Smoking on a plane the hard way doesn't fly
A 41-year-old man on a flight from Poland to Chicago last week has been charged with interfering with the duties of flight attendants after demanding that an exit door be opened so he could smoke while the plane was in the air.
Paramedics sue city on overtime
A group of Chicago paramedics has sued the city for overtime in federal court, charging that they do not receive the same consideration as firefighters.
Taking a swing at rehab
Growing up, Patrick Byrne hated golf. It was the only thing his father ever talked about. Tee times, clubs, putting greens.
Ex-President Ford departs hospital
Former President Gerald Ford was discharged from the Mayo Clinic on Monday, nearly two weeks after being admitted for tests and undergoing a pair of heart procedures.
Driving exercises give new meaning to term muscle car
The average American spends at least an hour a day in his car -- and probably doesn't think of it as a place for physical activity. But those long commutes, maddening traffic jams and endless carpools for the kids can provide a surprising opportunity to tone those muscles and, maybe, relieve a little stress.
A new way of looking at veins
What's worse than an injection? How about two injections? But with the help of a medical device, there should be fewer failed attempts to connect with a patient's vein.
Walking, biking: Inexpensive exercising
It's long been assumed that people with less money and education as well as members of certain ethnic groups get far less exercise than those who are white, richer and more educated. A new study, however, suggests that the exercise gap is smaller than previously thought -- because of the day-to-day walking and biking people do, out of necessity, when they don't own cars or have limited access to them.
It's not just the birds, bees for girls
What they thought would be a routine physical for her volleyball team found 14-year-old Amanda Zaborowski and her mom facing a big question: Did they want Amanda to get a new vaccine that would protect her against the common and serious sexually transmitted disease HPV, or human papillomavirus?
She begged for help; guards said, `Shut up'
Hour after hour, Christina Eilman threw herself at the bars of her cell at a South Side police lockup, shrieking threats one moment and begging for help the next, pleading that she was ill.
A giant leap for diabetics
A little-known side effect of child diabetes is nervous sleeplessness in parents, who monitor their children's blood glucose throughout the night. But the state of diabetes technology is on the verge of a breakthrough that already is paying huge dividends.
2 extremists teach a physical side to faith
History's first marathoner famously keeled over and died after finishing the grueling journey, which now measures 26.2 miles. But this summer brought the news that not just one but two men thought it would be "fun" to run 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 consecutive days.
Chainsaws, pacemakers can work in harmony
Q. I need some good, honest information about whether it's safe to use power tools--chainsaws or jackhammers, for example--when I have a new aortic valve and pacemaker for my heart.
The Healing Mind
Western medicine separated the mind from the body in the Middle Ages when the famous French philosopher and mathematician Rene Descartes agreed to accept flesh and bone as the province of physicians, while the Catholic Church claimed possession of the mind, insisting it was the creation of the soul.
Stockholm syndrome likely in case of former captive
She dashed to freedom the moment she got a chance but reportedly wept inconsolably when told her "master" had thrown himself in front of a train. She had a tearful reunion with her parents yet hasn't asked for them since.
New stem cell method criticized
A Vatican official on Saturday criticized a new method of making stem cells that does not require the destruction of embryos, calling it a "manipulation" that did not address the church's ethical concerns.
President Ford has angioplasty
Former President Ford underwent his second heart procedure in a week at the Mayo Clinic when stents were placed into two of his coronary arteries to increase blood flow, his spokeswoman said Friday.
Foe of smoking still fears `cigarette police'
Citing the specter of "cigarette police," a sociology instructor at McHenry County College in Crystal Lake has objected to a proposed measure that would prohibit smoking on the 111-acre campus.
Birth-control price hike rolled back
Public health service providers have worried since last month that dramatic price increases for a popular birth control pill could mean a loss of protection to thousands of clients.
