Plain people, exotic illnesses
Bedtime comes early at the Martin farm, where life is still ordered by the rhythms of nature and the Old Order Mennonite faith. By dinnertime, with the cows milked and the animals fed, Amy, 10, and Derick, 12, are struggling to stay awake. By 8 p.m., they are off to bed, soon fast asleep beneath rows of special four-foot fluorescent lights that bathe them all night in a purplish-blue glow. The lights keep them alive.
( By Susan FitzGerald, Inquirer Staff Writer, 12/03/2002 01:28 PM PST)

Weighing in
A new study of how rigorous exercise and healthy snacks might keep elementary-school-age children from getting fat will hinge on revving up their after-school activities.
( By Joe Kovac Jr., Telegraph Staff Writer, 12/02/2002 10:40 AM PST)

Cornstarch -- his elixir for life
Mary Chapman was sitting next to her sleeping son on a couch in their Gastonia home when she saw the clock. It was 4 p.m.
( MIKE STOBBE, Staff Writer, 12/02/2002 10:00 AM PST)

Kids strike a pose -- in yoga classes
The yoga students at Lake Norman Yoga Center were doing the cow posture. You could guess this, even without knowing yoga, because one student was mooing.
( PAM KELLEY, Staff Writer, 11/25/2002 07:04 AM PST)

How long has that been in there?
In one ear and up the nose: Like kids around the world, Tallahassee children love to hide small objects such as coins, balls, buttons and seeds in their ears and noses. These hiding places become new storage areas, and eventually they provide doctors with humorously disgusting stories. Age 2 through 6 is prime time for inserting such foreign objects, doctors say.
( By Cheryl R. Young, DEMOCRAT WRITER, 11/25/2002 07:28 AM PST)

Big help for tiny babies
Francine Johnson saw her fragile newborn for 60 seconds before the tiny girl was rushed to another hospital an hour away. No one could promise that her 2-pound, 2-ounce baby, born 14 weeks prematurely in August, would survive.
( By Cheryl Powell, Beacon Journal medical writer, 11/20/2002 06:43 AM PST)

Research focusing on child strokes
The signs are subtle, silent and easy to miss. An infant may hold her bottle in just one hand, or gaze only to one side. These are among the symptoms of stroke in babies and children -- a far more common occurrence than many parents and pediatricians realize, and one that is getting increased attention from researchers.
( By Barbara Feder Ostrov, Mercury News, 11/19/2002 07:18 AM PST)

FDA clears childbirth infection test
Hospitals will soon be able to offer women in premature labor or who missed prenatal care a crucial test that may help protect hundreds of babies from a potentially deadly childbirth infection.
( By LAURAN NEERGAARD, Associated Press, 11/19/2002 06:30 AM PST)

Court won't force child into chemo
The parents of a 7-year-old cannot be forced to treat his leukemia with chemotherapy and can pursue a diet-based alternative, a judge ruled Monday.
( Associated Press, 11/19/2002 12:48 PM PST)