According to an article published in the Journal ofEpidemiology and Community Health, excess pneumonia deaths inEngland are associated with engine exhaust fumes. Author E G Knoxcompares the total annual losses of pneumonia due to air pollution tothat of the London smog in 1952.

Unlike the world of high-tech, Israel’s biotech community is populated with women leading life-changing companies into the new millennium. They are CEOs and business development experts who sniff out new technology possibilities from Israeli academia and then bring them to life. One of these women is Anat Eitan, the founder and CEO of two young biotech startups AllergyFight and VacciGuard.

The extent of the community need for treatment of mental health problems has been clearly demonstrated by the high uptake of the Better Access to Mental Health Care Medicare items, according to the Australian Psychological Society, accounting for the larger than expected costs.

The Los Angeles Times on Friday examined the weekly serialized radio drama “Body Love,” which depicts black characters “wrestl[ing] with a slew of health problems while trying to navigate prickly relationships and cope with financial strains.” The 15-minute episodes focus on two extended families who “make progress through modest lifestyle changes.

Legislation (HR 1474,

Girls from Quebec, Canada, in grades four and nine will be able to receive the HPV (human papilloma virus) vaccine if their parents request it. This will bring Quebec in line with other Canadian provinces. Authorities say this move will cost Quebec approximately CA$50 million this year. The Quebec government said it hopes all young women will receive the HPV vaccine eventually.

Mitsugu Fujita, M.D., Ph.D., and Ryo Ueda, M.D., Ph.D., both researchers with the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute’s (UPCI) Brain Tumor Program, are pursuing the same aim: understanding the body’s immune system in order to fight the deadliest and most common form of brain cancer. At the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting, April 12 to 16, in San Diego, they will present research discussing their novel approaches to achieving this goal. Dr.

Florida lawmakers on Wednesday added language to a state budget companion bill (HB 5085) that would expand a Medicaid pilot program that shifts some beneficiaries to private managed care plans, such as health maintenance organizations, the Miami Herald reports.

The Joint Commission on Friday issued safety recommendations to hospitals to prevent drug errors or adverse reactions in children, the AP/Houston Chronicle reports. A

The “commercialism” associated with a “new coterie of international workers who are gestating for a living” is “troubling,” columnist Ellen Goodman writes in a Boston Globe opinion piece.