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The thing about medical insurance is that it can be very difficult to shop for and can definitely be hard to get. There are a few things you can look for, though, when trying to find the right individual medical insurance that will ensure you're okay and that if anything happens, you won't be spending an arm and a leg. Here are a few things to look for:

- What are their premiums like? If they are charging you a ton, you may not want to spend the money.

- Do they force you to get a referral to go to a different doctor? If they don't, that may be the best. You need to a see a doctor when you need to, not when your insurance company says you do.

- Does your health insurance also provide dental insurance plans? Some health insurance do not cover both.

- Are they accepted by a lot of doctors? The health insurance could be phenomenal, but if no one accepts them, it's not going to do you any good.

Shopping for health insurance should not be a scary thing to you. In the end, you are looking for coverage so if something happens to you, you're okay. You're in control…They want your business. Get what you need and always shop around.

The heavily polluted air in Beijing may trigger serious cardiovascular problems for some spectators. Researchers warn that for people in certain risk groups, breathing high levels of pollution can cause heart attacks and strokes within 24 hours of exposure and increase the possibility of having blood clots in their legs on the plane home. Research shows that high pollution levels can cause hyperclotting of the blood, spurring stokes and heart attacks.

Plants could act as safe, speedy factories for growing antibodies for personalized treatments against a common form of cancer, according to new findings from the Stanford University School of Medicine. The findings came in the first human tests of an injectable vaccine grown in genetically engineered plants. The treatments, which would vaccinate cancer patients against their malignant cells, could lead to earlier personalized therapy to tackle follicular B-cell lymphoma, an immune-system malignancy diagnosed in about 16,000 people each year.

Scientists have identified the primary immune sensor that detects the presence of stomach viruses in the body. They show that the sensor -- a protein called MDA-5 -- triggers an immune response that revs up the body's defenses to fight off the infection. This knowledge may help develop a treatment that prevents or reduces infection.

Researchers have for the first time been able to show exactly how, when a baby suckles at a mother's breast, it starts a chain of events that leads to surges of the "trust" hormone oxytocin being released in their mothers brains.

Older adults can decrease their risk of disability and increase their likelihood of maintaining independence by 41 percent by participating in a walking exercise program, according to a new study.

The question of whether insulin-producing cells of the pancreas can regenerate is key to our understanding of diabetes. Now scientists have concluded that they can. Researchers have shown in vitro that insulin-producing β-cells (beta cells) can return to a more primitive developmental state called stem-like cells.

Anxiety is a normal human response to stress, but in some, it can develop into a disabling disorder of excessive and irrational fears, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder, or post-traumatic stress disorder. Effective treatments are available and can involve either behavioral therapy or medications.

Scientists have developed a potential new treatment against cancer that attaches magnetic nanoparticles to cancer cells, allowing them to be captured and carried out of the body. The treatment has been tested in the laboratory and will now be looked at in survival studies.

People living near vulnerable creeks and rivers along Colorado's Front Range may soon get advance notice of potentially deadly floods, thanks to a new forecasting system being tested this summer by the National Center for Atmospheric Research.