U.S. surgeon general leaves post

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Quietly leaving his post as surgeon general, Dr. Richard Carmona said he would judge himself successful if he had persuaded one student to make good health choices or one mother to stop smoking.

Bird flu virus mix doesn't transmit easily in animal test

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- Tests using ferrets suggest that the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus has to undergo complex genetic changes before it could develop into a pandemic flu virus, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

School vaccine season grows more complex

ATLANTA, Georgia (AP) -- The growing list of childhood vaccinations reads like an alphabet soup: Hib, HepA, HepB, IPV, PCV, MCV4, DTaP, Tdap, varicella and influenza.

Autism: Slowly unraveling, still a mystery

Autism. It's a word more often heard these days. But what autism actually is is probably less understood by the average person.

FDA considering over-the-counter sales of morning-after pill

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The government is considering allowing over-the-counter sales of the morning-after pill to women 18 and older -- a surprise move Monday that revives efforts to widen access to the emergency contraceptive almost a year after it was thought doomed.