Doctors took 15-year-old Ji Xiaoyan off a ventilator and she was discharged because her family could no longer pay her hospital bills. Her uncle cobbled together a makeshift ventilator from bicycle and washing machine parts, driven by a noisy electric motor. The contraption pumped air into the teenager’s lungs for more than a month, until the family got donations for treatment.
True or false? H1N1 myths debunked
Whether it’s severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) or avian influenza, every now and then, there’s an ailment that is hyperbolized. Oftentimes, misinformation creates further confusion. In the last year, the H1N1 influenza strain has been at the center of media attention. Public media commonly refers to it as swine flu.
Taiwan’s president greeted with love and hate in Seattle
By Assunta Ng Northwest Asian Weekly Cheers and jeers met Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeoh when he arrived in Seattle on Tuesday, June 2. More than 100 protesters stood outside the Seattle Sheraton Hotel including those from Portland and Vancouver. They shouted, “Ma Ying-jeoh must go. Taiwan doesn’t need you!” Inside the hotel, approximately 200 admirers […]
Longevity of life a mixed blessing for Japanese
By Mari Yamaguchi The Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — This past Friday, May 22, Japan welcomed the news that it had topped the world longevity ratings, but with its citizens living increasingly longer lives, it may soon become hard for the government to find enough young taxpayers to support them.
Gates Foundation agriculture chief tapped for USDA post
By Donna Gordon Blankinship The Associated Press SEATTLE (AP) — The director of the agriculture program at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has been nominated by President Obama to be an undersecretary in the U.S. Department of Agriculture.