EpisodeImproving Global Health
While some believe there’s a health-care crisis in the United States, many citizens of developing countries have no access to health care at all. Dr. Richard Guerrant (University of Virginia) has spent …
EpisodeBloodless Surgery and Stroke Prevention
More than 600,000 Americans suffer from stroke each year, enough to make the disorder the third leading cause of death in the United States. But new medicines are being developed …
EpisodeSmallpox and Community Shielding
It’s a disease that’s nothing short of terrifying. Highly contagious and disfiguring, smallpox once killed about 30 percent of those who fell victim to it. Health officials declared it eradicated …
EpisodeNot Your Father’s P.E.
The field of physical education has gone through dramatic changes over the past 25 years. It’s even gotten a new name – kinesiology. While P.E. is still about getting people …
EpisodeThe Obesity Epidemic
Since 1980, the number of obese adult Americans has doubled. And the number of overweight adolescents has tripled. Psychiatrist Cindy Bulik (Virginia Commonwealth University/Medical College of Virginia) is researching the role genetics …
EpisodeMedical Promises
In laboratories throughout the Old Dominion, researchers are working to solve some of the most vexing medical problems. We draw them from their labs to the microphone for an explanation …
EpisodeReplay: Thinking Visually: The Talents of Dyslexics
Few disorders are more common—and more misunderstood—than dyslexia. Recent research suggests the regions of the brain associated with visual and spatial thinking are larger in dyslexics, while regions responsible for …
EpisodeShaky Knees and Pain
It’s the danger that awaits female athletes. Its victims have included soccer great Michelle Akers and basketball players Rebecca Lobo and Sheryl Swoopes. The torn ACL is a devastating knee …
EpisodePet Therapy
Sandra Barker (VCU) is the director of a new center at the Medical College of Virginia studying the health benefits to humans of interacting with companion animals. One of the services …
EpisodeDanger in the Air
It’s a disease that’s nothing short of frightening. Highly contagious and disfiguring, smallpox once killed about 30 percent of those who fell victim to it. Health officials declared it eradicated …
EpisodeWomen and Depression
By some estimates women are twice as likely as men to suffer from depression. Researchers have posited numerous theories for the gender difference: a variance in brain structure, reproductive function, …
EpisodeWalking Away From Diabetes
More than 10 million Americans are at high risk of developing diabetes and 60 million are already afflicted. The numbers are especially alarming for minority populations in the United States. …
