A Tale of Medical Research Sabotage

Here's what we're reading today:

Sabotage: Science noir, indeed: Nature's Brian Maher reports on a jaw-dropping case of medical research sabotage at the University of Michigan.

More Sleep: First-year medical residents will now work mere 16-hour shifts instead of 24-hour ones under new rules approved by medical education authorities, although they still may be required to work up to 80 hours per week. If this policy was in place years ago, NBC's ER would have been a lot less watchable.

Kids' Health: Children Now has released its annual report on the state of kids' well-being in California. How many kids have health insurance in your county? This report can tell you.

Environmental Health: Researchers find that levels of the pollutant chromium are just as high in New Jersey homes that are far away from chromium-producing sites as ones nearby. A cautionary tale about the need for a control group in environmental health studies.

Tuberculosis: The CDC's TB Notes newsletter offers a fascinating case report of tuberculosis among Mexican day laborers in San Francisco who spoke no Spanish, only Tseltal, an indigenous language of Chiapas. The men were unfamiliar with the concept of mail, mailboxes or addresses. Check out our tips on covering tuberculosis here.