THE GOOD NEWS
-- To combat bacterial food poisoning, the U.S. Agriculture Department proposes stricter poultry processing. Under new rules, chickens would be inspected more closely for contamination with fecal matter, and bird carcasses would be treated with germ-killing sprays or rinses.
-- Nearly 80 medicines to control infectious diseases are under development, according to a drug-industry survey. Among them: a vaccine for Lyme disease and a drug derived from cow's milk to fight a parasite that strikes many AIDS patients.
-- Echocardiograms that measure the thickness of the heart's main pumping chamber may help doctors judge which patients are most...