Study: Hepatitis threat underestimated

A new Institute of Medicine report this month finds that hepatitis -- which affects 3 to 5 times as many Americans as HIV/AIDS but receives a fraction of the funding and attention -- is a "major" public health problem in the U.S. My Time.com story is here.

What happens to the Haiti relief money?

Millions are pouring in from around the world to aid survivors of the Haiti quake. What happens when it gets there?

How has New York fared in the Great Recession?

We took a look this week at how the world's financial capitals are faring in the Great Recession. Here's my piece on New York; I was surprised to find that the state of the city isn't as bad as the dreary headlines often make it seem.

Why women can scrap those health rules

If you've ever gotten so tangled in conflicting women's health advice that you've felt the urge to give up on the crazy rules altogether, take heart. The authors of the new book Live a Little! say you can go right ahead. In our interview up today on Time.com, they talked about why a little common sense is all you need for a happy, healthy life.

A brief history of anabolic steroids

Mark McGwire's admission to using steroids isn't exactly surprising. But it was news to me that Adolf Hitler may have been among the first people to juice. I wrote about the history of steroids here.

Do air marshals really help?

Three days after the attempted Christmas bombing of Northwest Flight 253, President Obama announced that federal air marshals would ride shotgun on more flights to and from the U.S. Armed, highly trained and unobtrusive, thousands of marshals are currently flying U.S. skies. But, as I note in the history of air marshals I wrote for this week's mag, whether they can prevent airborne attacks is debatable.

A Brief History of Antidepressants

A new study in JAMA suggests that antidepressants provide relief for people with severe depression but do little for people with mild to moderate depression. Here's a history of the drugs, which have always been as controversial as they are popular.

How to Make Doctors Better

Dr. Atul Gawande has a new book out today arguing that the solution to many medical errors isn't more training or technology: it's as simple as a checklist. He draws on examples from pilots, restaurateurs, and construction engineers, among others, to show why. Here's our interview.