Insights

<p>Jonathan Watts arrived in China in 2003 after a distinguished career covering Japan for the Guardian in London. He was filling very big shoes, taking over for <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/global/2007/jun/03/johngittings">John Gittings</a>, who had written about China since the Cultural Revolution. Watts quickly established himself as a clear-eyed observer of the massive changes under way economically, politically and culturally. In 2008, he took a break to write a book about the environmental and health effects of China’s rapid growth.</p>

<p>Both <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/gurley/detail?entry_id=52421&quot;&…; and altruism are good for your health and there's nothing like giving a gift to a homeless person to help you experience both. Here are some easy, practical, cheap ways to be selfish a

<p><em>This is one in a series of articles, running the 5 weeks between Thanksgiving and New Year's, examining the relationship between housing loss and death in San Francisco.</em></p>

<p>Despite threats that skimpy Medicare payments would force doctors to drop seniors from their patient rolls, physicians still are seeing them in droves. Plus more from our Daily Briefing.</p>

<p>This Sunday in the Record Searchlight, we revealed that nearly two thirds of Shasta County's doctors are older than 50, and there aren't nearly enough young doctors lining up to replace their retiring peers.</p>

He offered her food. Bacor knew the drill. To work in the Filipino community, one had to go through a cultural 'dance' of introductions to find commonalities so there would be a smoother and more trusting foundation to begin a relationship, albeit professional and in quick need. Even though she wasn't hungry, she knew she had to take the food so she wouldn’t seem ungrateful and not wanting to socialize – to bond. She sat for what she knew would be a long tedious unraveling of the "real" story from the father's point of view, then the son. She knew that somewhere in the middle of their story was the beginning of the truth.

Which state is having the worst flu season so far? Answers and more in our Daily Briefing.

<p>Here’s what you shouldn’t do if you get caught breaking the medical rules in Vermont: skip class.</p>

<p>In November, we highlighted two freelance careers in health journalism. This week we have a first-person account of Karen Weintraub's freelance career.</p>

It's getting confusing again with a new study on the benefits of mammograms. Our Daily Briefing sorts it all out.