Category: News Archive

The latest warning from environmental groups concerns babies' disposable nappies (diapers). They have become a real environmental problem that needs to be taken seriously. Used nappies make up a noticeable share of household rubbish and are found in rivers and seas. They are made of plastic and super-absorbent materials that break down very slowly, taking […]

Children and teenagers whose growth was held back by Crohn's disease grew taller and had better bone mineral and body composition after treatment with growth hormone, a US study suggests. Earlier studies had given conflicting results, Dr Melvin Heyman and colleagues at the University of California, San Francisco, noted in the November issue of the […]

Cholera is spreading through Zimbabwe like wildfire, with thousands of cases and hundreds of deaths. The government has paid little attention to the people amid the power struggle between the president and the opposition prime minister. Poorly maintained sewage pipes have let sewage leak into drinking water, spreading the disease to thousands, and thousands more […]

A study has found that children with a smoker in the family show signs of nicotine dependence, so parents should not smoke around their children. An earlier study showed that children exposed to tobacco smoke at home or in the car have nicotine and its breakdown products in their urine, blood and hair, and that […]

A study suggests that red wine may protect against lung cancer: men who drank moderate amounts of red wine had a lower risk of lung cancer, the authors say, even if they smoked. Red wine contains an antioxidant that may help protect against lung cancer, says Dr Chun Chao, a research scientist at Kaiser Permanente […]

The United States has delayed approval of a new antibiotic from Johnson & Johnson and Basilea, saying more clinical data are needed, the two companies said. Ceftobiprole is a broad-spectrum antibiotic designed to kill the dangerous bacterium MRSA. The delay now looks likely to last at least six months, which sent both companies' shares down. […]

More than a thousand children are still being treated in Chinese hospitals for kidney damage caused by contaminated milk, two months after the melamine milk scandal broke, China's health ministry said. 50,741 children have been discharged after their health improved, after worried parents rushed them to hospital on hearing that dairy products had been contaminated […]

Gum disease goes together with metabolic syndrome, British researchers say, after studying the link between gum disease and the onset and progress of the syndrome. Metabolic syndrome is a group of problems that occur together and raise the risk of heart disease, diabetes and stroke: high blood pressure, high blood sugar, low "good" cholesterol and […]

Studies in the US show that people with bleeding and receding gums have worse mental function than those with healthier gums. The researchers think the general inflammation caused by gum disease may harm the brain, although this study, done at a single point in time, couldn't prove a lasting effect. Older people are more likely […]

A large study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, tested whether ginkgo biloba prevents dementia. It found that 120 mg of ginkgo twice a day (240 mg a day) had no effect on preventing dementia or Alzheimer's disease. Many people today take ginkgo leaf extract to improve memory or to prevent or […]

Researchers have found that depression may make it harder for people with diabetes to control their blood sugar. In a study of 11,000 people with type 2 diabetes followed for a decade, those diagnosed with depression had higher levels of HbA1c (glycated haemoglobin, the standard measure of long-term blood sugar). This is worrying, because people […]

A team of researchers at Duke University has found that lactic acid (lactate) is an important energy source that keeps tumour cells alive, so cutting off their supply of lactate could kill them. In many tumours, cells can produce energy in different ways. Tumour cells near blood vessels get plenty of oxygen and can burn […]