Swine-Flu Toll Much Higher Than Previous Estimates

Swine Flu: A study suggests that many more people may have died from swine flu in 2009 than was originally estimated, reports Sharon Begley for Reuters.

Autism: Research on autism may slow due to a lack of brain samples. Advocacy organizations are reaching out to families who might donate. The supply fell when a freezer failed earlier in June, thawing a third of the specimens stored at a Harvard brain bank, reports Benedict Carey for the New York Times.

Obesity: New guidelines suggest that doctors screen all patients for obesity, and those who are at risk should be offered at least 12 weeks of intensive counseling, reports Judith Graham for Kaiser Health News.

HIV: The Global Commission on Drug Policy, an advocacy group, released a study showing that the war on drugs is fuelling the spread of HIV and AIDS, reports CBC News.

Veterans: The federal government wasted billions of dollars paying private insurers for procedures veterans had already received free of charge, according to a new analysis. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service dispute this finding, reports Andrew Seaman for Reuters.

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