jfcherry via Flickr/Creative Commons
Alan Cassels reviews some studies of the association between reading medical news and developing stress-related medical problems, and concludes that what you read just might make you feel bad: "At the end of the day, health fear-mongering is bad for you and you should do what you can to immunize yourself from its pernicious influence. Journalists (and readers) need a better tuned fear-mongering radar to detect elements that are more likely to scare than inform readers."