Older Moms, Fertility Treatments Lead to More Twins in U.S.

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January 4, 2012

twins, hpv vaccine, antibiotics, reporting on healthTwins: We really are seeing more twins these days: one in 30 babies born in the U.S. is a twin, up from one in 53 just three decades ago, Mike Stobbe reports for the Associated Press. Experts say older moms and higher use of fertility treatments explain the trend.

HPV Vaccine: In a finding sure to re-spark controversy over the human papilloma virus vaccine, researchers found that some girls wrongly think they no longer need to practice safe sex after receiving the HPV vaccine, Reuters reports.

Drug Trials: Yeesh: New research suggests that results from a troubling number of drug trials are being withheld from scientific journals, with some studies "disappeared" amid drug company pressure or researchers' reluctance to publish negative results, Kate Kelland reports for Reuters. The missing findings could harm patients, the British Medical Journal warns.

Antibiotics: The FDA has restricted the use of one class of antibiotics in livestock in a first step toward preventing antibiotic resistance in humans, the Associated Press reports.

Health Insurance: Washington Post blogger Ezra Klein reports on a new breakdown from insurer Blue Shield on how each dollar of health insurance is spent.

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Photo credit: Eddie Van 3000 via Flickr