Week of April 25, 2007

Harvard School of Public Health symposium

On-Demand Video: The Future of Malaria Research
Apr. 25, 2007
"The purpose of the symposium is to discuss and explore novel approaches to the amelioration of malaria in the developing world through collective, open source and public efforts in basic sciences, genomics, and drug and vaccine development."

National Public Radio

Audio: Russia's Halt on Adoptions Spotlights Conditions
Gregory Feifer
Apr. 25, 2007
"Russian authorities have suspended the work of foreign adoption agencies. That has put into limbo the plans of many Americans waiting to adopt Russian children, even as human rights groups say a growing number of institutionalized children in Russia are living -- and dying -- in wretched conditions." (Running time: 7:46)

Audio: Iraqi Children Suffer Mental Stress from War
Linda Wertheimer
Apr. 21, 2007
"A new study in Iraq surveyed 2,500 kids, randomly chosen from a middle-income area of north Baghdad, to see if researchers could determine the effects of the war on their mental health. Dr. Mohammed al-Aboudi, Iraq's national mental health adviser, speaks with Linda Wertheimer about the findings." (Running time: 2:55)

The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer

Video: New Orleans Health System in Slow Recovery
Susan Dentzer
Apr. 24, 2007
"In the second of a two-part series on health care in New Orleans, The NewsHour looks at the slow, long recovery of the overall health infrastructure." (Running time: 8:31)

Video: Smallpox Vaccine Causes Rare Complications
Elizabeth Brackett
Apr. 23, 2007
"A Chicago boy contracted a virus similar to smallpox when his father received the vaccine for the disease." (Running time: 8:17)

CNN

Video: Food Supply at Risk?
Kitty Pilgrim
Apr. 24, 2007
"Congress looks at the FDA's inability to keep the U.S. food supply safe." (Related story) (Running time: 1:53)

Video: Global Road Safety
Cal Perry
Apr. 24, 2007
"Road safety is a global killer -- with kids paying the biggest price." (Running time: 2:24)

Video: Indonesia Maternity
UNICEF via CNN
Apr. 23, 2007
"U.N. agencies are trying to improve infant mortality rates in Indonesia by counseling pregnant women." (Running time: 2:06)

The Globe and Mail (Toronto)

Audio Slideshow: AIDS -- Stories from a Continent
Stephanie Nolen
Apr. 23, 2007
"Award-winning Globe and Mail correspondent Stephanie Nolen takes an intimate look at what the pandemic has done to a continent."

CBS Evening News

Video: Is FDA Capable Of Keeping Food Safe?
Nancy Cordes
Apr. 23, 2007
"A former FDA deputy commissioner says the agency is so understaffed that it has little ability to prevent problems like the deadly outbreak of E. coli in spinach last year." (Related story) (Running time: 2:29)

Video: FDA Under Fire
Wyatt Andrews
Apr. 23, 2007
"As with tainted food, the FDA doesn't take action against a drug until after someone gets ill or dies. People in Washington want to know why." (Running time: 1:47)

Week of April 18, 2007

NBC Nightly News

Video: Shootings Raise Mental Health Concerns
Tom Costello
Apr. 19, 2007
"NBC's Tom Costello reports on the difficulty schools and universities have in acting on students who might be considered a threat." (Running time: 2:57)

ABC World News

Video: Outrage Over Ability to Acquire Guns
Jake Tapper
Apr. 19, 2007
"Under law Cho should not have been able to buy guns based on his mental state." (Running time: 2:20)

Video: Ripple Effect of Violence
Dean Reynolds
Apr. 19, 2007
"What impact does the media saturation of violence have on the nation?" (Running time: 2:35)

CBS Evening News

Video: Breast Cancer Numbers Plummet
Dr. Jon LaPook
Apr. 19, 2007
"Since 2002, when millions of menopausal women stopped talking hormone replacement therapy, the rate of breast cancer dropped significantly." (Running time: 1:57)

National Public Radio

Audio: Study Finds Breast-Feeding Decreases Cancer Risk
Richard Knox
Apr. 19, 2007
"Doctors have known for a while that women who first give birth in their early 20s have lower rates of breast cancer later in life than women who delay childbearing. This made Dr. Geske Ursin and her colleagues wonder whether the hormonal changes associated with pregnancy and breast-feeding were somehow the reason." (Running time: 3:44)

Audio: AARP Expands Health Insurance Partnerships
Julie Rovner
Apr. 18, 2007
"The senior group AARP is expanding its already considerable reach into the health insurance market. New contracts AARP has signed with United Health Group and Aetna will offer a variety of new types of coverage, including new plans for those aged 50 to 64." (Running time: 4:01)

Audio: Drug Ads Play Up Benefits, Downsize Risks
Allison Aubrey
Apr. 13, 2007
"Taking medicine used to be only for the sick. But in the age of direct-to-consumer advertising, drugmakers have persuaded a lot of people that taking medicine can be a casual affair, something healthy people should do to stay well. With more than $4 billion a year spent on pharmaceutical ads, studies show it's increasingly common for people to ask their doctors for drugs they've heard about on TV." (Running time: 8:59)

CNN

Video: The Many Faces of Grief
Dr. Sanjay Gupta
Apr. 18, 2007
"Many of the students staying at Virginia Tech need psychological support." (Running time: 1:42)

Week of April 11, 2007

NBC Nightly News

Video: How Safe Is Your Food?
Tom Costello
Apr. 11, 2007
"Imports of food products are way up in the United States, but there are fewer food inspectors. Is it something to worry about?" (Running time: 2:22)

Video: The World's Most Polluted City?
Mark Mullen
Apr. 6, 2007
"Linfen is the most polluted city in China -- perhaps the world -- and it's going to take some time to clean it up." (Running time: 2:23)

CBS Evening News

Video: Stem Cell Debate Isn't Over
Sharyl Attkisson
Apr. 11, 2007
"The Senate voted again to allow federal funding for embryonic stem cell research, but, as Sharyl Attkisson reports, proponents may not have enough votes to override an expected presidential veto." (Running time: 1:55)

Video: Stem Cells To Treat Diabetes?
Dr. Jon LaPook
Apr. 10, 2007
"A new study reports that a way of using stem cells to treat Type 1 diabetes may have been successfully accomplished for the first time." (Running time: 2:25)

Video: Fewer Drunk Drivers in Japan
Barry Petersen
Apr. 7, 2007
"Japanese are getting less tolerant toward drunk driving. Tougher laws have brought down the numbers significantly. Barry Petersen talks to convicts who say nothing can erase the tragic memories." (Running time: 2:08)

PBS

Video: Fat -- What No One Is Telling You
Naomi Boak and Tom Spain
Apr. 11, 2007
"FAT: What No One Is Telling You explores the myriad psychological, physiological and environmental factors that can make it so tough to shed pounds and keep them off."
Related review:
Documentary Gives a Face to Obesity
(Los Angeles Times, Apr. 9, 2007)
Free registration required.

ABC World News

Video: Can Google Earth Stop Genocide?
Bill Blakemore
Apr. 10, 2007
"Holocaust Museum and Google show effects of violence in Darfur." (Running time: 2:14)

The Guardian (London)

Photo Slideshow: Life in Zimbabwe
Jeffrey Barbee
Apr. 10, 2007
" 'People are dying so fast, we had to hire more grave diggers.' Photographer Jeffrey Barbee documents the day-to-day struggle to survive for ordinary Zimbabweans in and around Bulawayo."

National Public Radio

Audio: Parents of the Autistic Weigh Lifelong Care Options
Jon Hamilton
Apr. 11, 2007
"Autism begins in childhood, and it doesn't go away. Children with autism generally become adults with autism. Many will never live on their own. For their parents, that can mean responsibilities that last a lifetime -- and beyond. In Maryland, one family is struggling to create a future for their son, Joey." (Running time: 7:46)

Audio: Making Ends Meet Without Health Insurance
Patricia Neighmond
Apr. 9, 2007
"[James Calhoun] describes himself as part of a new group of workers he calls 'perma-lancers' -- people who are expected to perform like full-time employees, but without the benefits." (Running time: 4:56)

A five-part series:
The Forgotten War on Drugs
Alisa Barba
Apr. 2–6, 2007
"Nearly four decades after the United States declared a war on drugs, juvenile drug abuse is on the decline, but illegal narcotics remain cheap and plentiful. In a five-part series, NPR examines the progress of U.S. anti-drug policy so far, and where experts say it should focus next."

CBS News: 60 Minutes

Video: A Question Of Corruption
Steve Kroft
Apr. 1, 2007
"Drug companies had a deep hand in steering the Medicare prescription drug bill which has provided them with enormous profits. Steve Kroft reports on an 'ugly' time in Congress." (Related story) (Running time: 13:00)

Week of April 4, 2007

PBS: Frontline

Video: 'So Much So Fast'
Directed by Steven Ascher and Jeanne Jordan
Apr. 3, 2007
"What would you do if you were 29 years old and found out that you only had a few years to live? Stephen Heywood chose to get married, have a child and rebuild two houses while he was slowly losing control of his body's movement from a crippling disease. In So Much So Fast, Academy Award-nominated directors Steven Ascher and Jeanne Jordan capture the remarkable events set in motion when Stephen Heywood discovers he has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease." (Video excerpts available online)

NBC Nightly News

Video: Doctor Takes on HIV in Iran
Ian Williams
Apr. 3, 2007
"In a country where pre-marital sex, prostitution and gay sex are hardly seen, much less talked about, emphasizing the importance of safe sex to prevent HIV infection takes on a new challenge. But one Iranian doctor is making an impact. NBC's Ian Williams reports." (Running time: 2:33)

Video: 'Ice' Has Drug Agents Scrambling
Mark Potter
Mar. 29, 2007
"Mexican methamphetamine labs are importing a new, stronger strain of the drug into the U.S. It's become a major burden for drug enforcement agents, as NBC's Mark Potter reports." (Running time: 2:22)

National Public Radio

Audio: Thembi, a Year Later -- Life with HIV
Melissa Block
Apr. 3, 2007
"Thembi Ngubane is one of the 5 million South Africans living with HIV. Last April, All Things Considered broadcast Ngubane's radio diary, in which she chronicled her story: telling her family about her HIV status, her relationship with her boyfriend, having a child, confronting the stigma associated with AIDS in South Africa...Ngubane talks to Melissa Block about her health, what her life has been like since her radio diary was first aired, and what her plans are for the future." (Running time: 7:24)

Audio: Massachusetts Moves Toward Mandatory Insurance
Richard Knox
Apr. 2, 2007
"Health care reform is back on the U.S. agenda. On the national level, it's all talk. But things are already happening in some states." (Running time: 5:20)

Audio: States Take Lead in Funding Stem-Cell Research
Joe Palca
Mar. 30, 2007
"State governments have taken the unusual step of funding biomedical research -- usually done with federal grants -- because of federal political decisions to restrict funding for embryonic stem-cell research." (Running time: 4:31)

ABC World News

Video: Killer Tsunami's Aftermath
David Wright
Apr. 3, 2007
"Aid arrives for the thousands left homeless in the Solomon Islands." (Running time: 1:55)

Video: Should People Be Able To Sell Organs?
John McKenzie
Mar. 31, 2007
"A severe lack of organ donors heats up the debate over voluntary kidney sales." (Running time: 3:25)

CBS Evening News

Video: DNA May Be Key To Quitting Smoking
Sharyn Alfonsi
Apr. 2, 2007
"Smoking claims nearly half a million lives each year, but it's a tough addiction to beat. Sharyn Alfonsi reports on some good news: Doctors have found a new key to quitting embedded in our own DNA." (Related story) (Running time: 2:08)

Video: Test Helps Autism Diagnosis
Sandra Hughes
Apr. 2, 2007
"In the treatment of autism, early intervention is critical. As Sandra Hughes reports, a simple new test may help identify autism earlier than ever." (Related story) (Running time: 1:44)

Video: Philadelphia Is Bleeding
Bianca Solorzano
Apr. 1, 2007
"A number of factors have contributed to the high homicide rate in the City of Brotherly Love, including poverty, lax gun-control laws and a reduced police force. Bianca Solorzano reports." (Related story) (Running time: 2:14)