Health

Death from prescription drug overdose is on the rise in Michigan.

More Michiganders are dying from prescription drug abuse than from heroin and cocaine combined. In 2009, almost 460 Michiganders died of overdoses from one or more prescription drugs, up from nearly 410 deaths the year before. Data from 2010 is still being collected.

Larry Scott is with the Michigan Bureau of Substance Abuse and Addiction Services. He says there is one way to prevent the rise of prescription drug abuse.

The Detroit Free Press profiled Jerry Linenger today, a former mission specialist for the shuttle Discovery, who talked about his mixed emotions regarding today's final shuttle launch.

From the article:

It looks like something good might come out of the startling news two years ago that more than 10,000 rape kits in Detroit were found in a warehouse, untested.

Michigan State University researcher Rebecca Campbell is sifting through policies and interviewing police staff in Detroit to try and figure out why the sexual assault kits were gathering dust instead of getting tested.

And she says her findings won’t just apply to Detroit:

"Oh, this is not unique to Detroit. Not at all. This is happening in communities all throughout the United States."

The federal health care law is scheduled to take effect in 2014.  Health care leaders in Washtenaw County say they are not ready. 

Laura Weber reports: 

Two-thirds of all babies born to Michigan women in their early twenties are born out of wedlock. That’s according to a new report from the Michigan League for Human Services.

The reports shows a significant uptick over the past decade in the number of babies born out of wedlock to women in their twenties.

Jane Zehnder-Merrell is with the League. She says teen pregnancies out of wedlock used to be more prevalent.  

It’s the hottest season of the year and health professionals want people to remember to protect themselves from the sun. 

Dermatologists say it is important to stay out of the sun during peak hours from 10am to 3pm; Also seek shade; Wear protective clothing; Double up on sunscreen and reapply every two hours.  Frank Wang is with the University of Michigan Department of Dermatology. 

You do want to protect yourself because even one bad blistering sunburn can increase your risk of melanoma two-fold.

You can no longer sell or give away a traditional drop-side rail crib in Michigan or in the rest of the country.

Drop-side cribs are one of the most popular crib designs. They have a side rail that can be raised and lowered for easier access to the child.

Drop-side cribs have caused more than 30 deaths since 2000.

Crystal Phillips is the Safety Center coordinator at the Children’s Hospital of Michigan. She says she is telling parents to stop using the drop-side cribs immediately.

A new survey found the state of Michigan is not ready to implement the health care overhaul passed by Congress. The Affordable Health Care Act is supposed to go into effect in 2014.

Marianne Udow-Phillips  is the Director of the Center for Healthcare Research and Transformation. She says more people will be eligible for Medicaid under the new health care act and this might overwhelm an already strained health care system:

Here's your Friday "Science is awesome" moment, care of the Washington Post.

The story is about a black hole eating a star like our sun and shooting out gamma rays.

Oh...and it only happens once every 100 million years.