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The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Tuesday announced $112 million in grants aimed at helping doctors at smaller practices fight heart disease, the leading cause of death in the U.S. The grants will be used to create regional groups of experts who will provide assistance to smaller practices, which tend to have fewer resources than large organizations. (Sullivan, 5/26)

A couple of extra minutes attached to the umbilical cord at birth may translate into a small boost in neurodevelopment several years later, a study suggests. Children whose cords were cut more than three minutes after birth had slightly higher social skills and fine motor skills than those whose cords were cut within 10 seconds. The results showed no differences in IQ. (Haelle, 5/26)

Cutting the cord is a momentous event in a baby's life. For nine months, the developing fetus is attached to its mother by the umbilical cord. Then, moments after birth, that cord is severed. Now, research suggests there may be benefits to keeping mom and baby attached a few minutes longer. (Weintraub, 5/26)

Tanning salons are already under siege – they got taxed by the health law, are newly regulated by the federal government and states, and have become dermatologists’ favorite bad guy. But some policymakers say that’s not enough. Pointing to rising skin cancer rates and increased marketing toward young people, these public health advocates want new national restrictions regarding who can get their indoor tan on. “It’s time we started treating [tanning beds] just like they are cigarettes. They are carcinogen delivery systems,” said Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., at a May 20 Capitol Hill briefing on the dangers of indoor tanning. “We do not allow our children to buy cigarettes, yet the tanning industry continues to target adolescent girls. And this is not unlike what we found with the tobacco industry.” (Gillespie, 5/27)

Racial minorities may be more likely to forego colon cancer screening than whites because their healthcare providers don’t recommend the potentially life-saving tests, a new study in California suggests. (Neumann, 5/26)

Sticky plaque gets the most attention, but now healthy seniors at risk of Alzheimer’s are letting scientists peek into their brains to see if another culprit is lurking. No one knows what actually causes Alzheimer’s, but the suspects are its two hallmarks — the gunky amyloid in those brain plaques or tangles of a protein named tau that clog dying brain cells. New imaging can spot those tangles in living brains, providing a chance to finally better understand what triggers dementia. (Neergaard, 5/25)