Slow down -- Those lines on the road are longer than you think

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COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Take a guess -- how long are the dashed lines that are painted down the middle of a road?

If you're like most people, you answered, "Two feet."

The real answer is 10 feet. That's the federal guideline for every street, highway, and rural road in the United States, where dashed lines separate traffic lanes or indicate where passing is allowed.

A new study has found that people grossly underestimate the length of these lines -- a finding which implies that we're all misjudging distances as we drive, and are driving too fast as a result.

Heavy marijuana use may damage developing brain in teens, young adults

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Adolescents and young adults who are heavy users of marijuana are more likely than non-users to have disrupted brain development, according to a new study. Pediatric researchers found abnormalities in areas of the brain that interconnect brain regions involved in memory, attention, decision-making, language and executive functioning skills. The findings are of particular concern because adolescence is a crucial period for brain development and maturation.

11-gauge needle better than 14-gauge in breast biopsy

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Stereotactic vacuum-assisted breast needle biopsy, a common minimally invasive biopsy method used in the US, is more effective with an 11-gauge needle than the 14-gauge needle decreasing a physician's chances of false-negative diagnoses, according to a study performed at the Stanford University School of Medicine in Stanford, CA.

Mammography utilization in the United States decreases: A state-level look

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Nearly two thirds of the states in the US saw a small decrease in mammography utilization between the years 2000 and 2006, according to a study performed at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, GA.

Workforce shortages in mammography could threaten early detection rates for breast cancer

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At the current rate of production for new mammography professionals, there will be drastic reductions in the number of mammography professionals per woman age 40 years and older over the next 15-20 years, according to a study performed at the Center for Health and Workforce Studies at the Albany School of Public Health in Rensselaer, NY.

Landscape-scale treatment promising for slowing beetle spread

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Mountain pine beetles devastating lodgepole pine stands across the West might best be kept in check with aerial application of flakes containing a natural substance used in herbal teas that the insects release to avoid overcrowding host trees, according to a team of scientists.

Radiologists overestimate their overall risk of malpractice lawsuits in breast imaging

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Radiologists who work in breast imaging tend to overestimate their actual risk of medical malpractice lawsuits, according to a study performed at the University of Washington School of Public Health and Community Medicine in Seattle, WA.

New vaccine developed for preventing 'uncommon cold' virus

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FAIRFAX, Va. – Common colds typically cause a week of sneezing, aches and pains and then fade away leaving only a sore nose and a few used sick days behind. But what if that cold turned out to be something more?

Human adenovirus type-3 is known as the "uncommon cold" because the infection's symptoms—runny nose, sore throat, cough and fever—are eerily similar to those of the common cold which is caused by the rhinovirus. The difference is that, unlike the common cold, the symptoms of the uncommon cold are typically much more severe and can even be fatal.

ACP: State of America's health care is poor

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Washington, February 2, 2009 -- "The state of America's health care is poor," Jeffrey P. Harris, MD, FACP, president of the American College of Physicians (ACP), reported today at the annual State of the Nation's Health Care briefing. "There are too many uninsured and underinsured people. We have too few primary care physicians."

Driving under the influence (of stress): Regional effects of 9/11 attacks on driving

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The September 11 terrorist attacks had a profound impact on this country's psyche. Eight years after the attacks, we are still learning how those terrible events affected us. A number of studies have shown that people who lived closest to the sites of the terrorist attacks experienced heightened levels of stress and anxiety in the months following the September 11 attacks. Research has also indicated that elevated levels of stress can greatly impact day-to-day behaviors such as driving.