Roe v. Wade ensures American women at the federal level with the right to a safe and legal abortion, but that is by no means stopping states from attempting to chip away at -- or in this most recent case, take a chainsaw to -- that right. The most recent offending state: Virginia, where the GOP supermajority "muscled [through] two of the most restrictive anti-abortion bills in years," according to the AP. 

The first, like many that have been floated and gone back and forth in other southern states, would require that doctors give women a transvaginal ultrasound (which, if you're not familiar, involves insertion of a condom-covered probe into the vagina to obtain an image during the very early stages of a pregnancy) before they can have an abortion. The second -- also familiar -- basically asserts that a person's rights should begin from the moment the sperm meets the egg. INSANE.

If you're a frequent sinus infection sufferer, it's likely you at times depend on antibiotics to make you feel better -- I know I do! It's not that I drop everything and hightail it to my doctor at the first sign of sniffles; but if I have severe cold-like symptoms that last for days and days, I'll ask him for a prescription (hopefully instead of missing work). But now a new study suggests this line of defense may not be as effective as we assume: It says that antibiotics, specifically amoxicillin, do not fight sinus infections any more effectively than taking an inactive placebo pill.

What? Waaaaa!

At this point we're all pretty accustomed to the feeling of being surrounded by health risks, but that doesn't mean that a new one -- from an unexpected source -- doesn't still have the power to unsettle and even shock us. Such may be the case with a new FDA report that 400 lipsticks (400 of them!), from leading brands such as L'Oreal, Maybelline, NARS, and Cover Girl, and many, many others, contain lead. (You can find the list here.)

The FDA maintains that the level of lead found in the lipsticks pose no safety risks, but a consumer group, the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, has countered that any lead is too much lead. And that in fact of 33 red lipsticks it tested in 2007, most of which contained lead, one-third of them contained lead levels in excess of those allowed by the FDA for candy. Those results are pretty hard to swallow!

Imagine being diagnosed with early stage breast cancer ... but having no say in what kind of treatment you're given. As shocking as that scenario may sound, it's often the reality for women whose doctors take the reins in a big way. A new survey published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology found that about two-thirds of women diagnosed with early stage breast cancer want to be involved in decision-making about their treatment, but 46 out of every 100 reported that their doctor ended up making the decision. Yeesh!

Seems totally wrong, especially in an era when we're all being encouraged to act as our own health advocates and take an active role in our health care. After all, this isn't the 1950s, when we're blindly following every little tidbit of advice and taking every pill from the man in the white coat without question.

Still, the survey results beg the question: If women want to be participating more, what's stopping them? Thankfully, the researchers figured that out.

It's likely that everyone's first inclination after hearing the news that bedbugs were found this weekend at Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis is: extreme panic. After all, hospitals are the ONE place we'd expect to be clean and safe from these pesky critters, right? But actually that assumption isn't correct. In fact, what happened at Riley -- a patient's parent reportedly found one of the bedbugs in his child's hospital room -- is actually much more common than you'd think. Ick!

Suzanne Somers discusses banking stem cellsSuzanne Somers has always been down with the most cutting edge health science -- some might argue going as far back as her Thighmaster days. E!'s The Soup may have hilariously teased her for it, joking that she's pawning edible organic tanning spray. But the woman knows what's up. She proved it again in her latest episode of Suzanne Somers Breaking Through on the CafeMom Studios YouTube channel.

In the most recent installment, Somers sat down with Robin Smith, M.D., the CEO of Neostem, a group that deals with cellular therapies and stem cell banking. Dr. Smith explained why someone might want to bank their stem cells and how it's done. And seriously, after watching her one-on-one with Somers, I feel like I've been personally ushered into the future of medicine! 

Did we really need another reason to feel bad about eating too many calories? Regardless, we just got one. A new study has found a link between high calorie diets and memory loss. In fact, according to information just presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology, people in their 70s and 80s who took in a lot of calories had twice the risk of mild cognitive impairment, which can be a precursor to dementia.

So yeah, it's probably yet another inducement to cut a few calories out of our daily diets, but it's worth noting that the cause-and-effect relationship is not that clear. Did the calories lead to the memory loss? Or was it, rather, that the people in the study ate more because they had forgotten that they'd already eaten? (I'm actually serious, though it's also true that I keep forgetting that it's not cool to joke about memory loss.)

That Jennifer Aniston, she's one lucky lady. I don't know if there's ever been a time where she's had something I didn't want. Take her hunky boyfriend (and co-homeowner) Justin Theroux, for example. Or her signature Rachel haircut. And dayyyummm, I would DIE for her arms!

Welp, turns out her biceps are something I too can have! In fact, her sexy arm secret isn't all that tough. Jen told InStyle:

"I take 8 pound weights with me whenever I'm staying in a hotel. It's always good to do arm exercises when you're watching television or talking on the phone. I also love to stretch before I go to bed, and usually throw in a couple sit-ups."

Looks like Jen has the right attitude about getting in her strength training time. It's not when you do it, but that you DO it -- that matters.