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by Kerry SHERIDAN MIAMI, United States (AFP) — E-cigarette use is exploding among young people and is now “a major public health concern,” the US Surgeon General warned Thursday, sparking disagreement from experts in Britain where the devices are seen more favorably. The battery-powered devices heat a liquid containing nicotine into a vapor that is inhaled, and some experts worry that a new generation of smokers is becoming addicted. About one in six US high […]
NEW YORK, United States (Reuters) — A new device from UE Live Sciences has the potential to drastically reduce the cost of breast cancer screenings for women around the globe. The iBreast Exam earned top honors at the Hitlab Innovators Summit, a healthcare and technology conference and competition, at Columbia University in New York on Wednesday (November 30th). “The iBreast Exam is a breast cancer screening device targeted at the developing world. It’s very small, […]
(Reuters) — Baby Grace is just 16 days old. She eats, sleeps, and passes a lot of gas. Until now, it was thought that most of her brain circuitry developed before birth. But new research suggests it’s still very much work in progress – and will be for months. Scientists have found a previously unknown stage of development where tiny neurons believed to form deep in the brain migrate to the prefrontal cortex, which plays […]
One in seven people with HIV in Europe is unaware of their infection, the EU and World Health Organization reported Tuesday as 2015 marked another record year for new HIV cases in the region.
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan has mobilized its military to help with a second mass cull of 230,000 chickens amid a spreading outbreak of a highly contagious strain of avian flu, officials said. The highly virulent H5 strain was found in chickens at a farm in Joetsu city in Niigata prefecture, the local government said in a statement late Wednesday. It said that 2,100 people, including 1,020 members of the military, were being mobilized in […]
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (AFP) – by Philippe ALFROY South Africa on Wednesday begins a major clinical trial of an experimental vaccine against the AIDS virus, which scientists hope could be the “final nail in the coffin” for the disease. More than 30 years of efforts to develop an effective vaccine for HIV have not borne fruit, but for the first time since the virus was identified in 1983, scientists think they have found a promising candidate. […]
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Scurvy, a disease historically associated with old-world sailors on long voyages, is making a surprise comeback in Australia with health officials Tuesday revealing a spate of cases. Caused by vitamin C deficiency, it used to be a common, and often fatal, curse among seafarers who went months without fresh fruit and vegetables. Now considered rare, it is reappearing due to poor dietary habits, said Jenny Gunton, who heads the Centre for […]
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AFP) — Dutch officials have culled 190,000 ducks on a central Netherlands farm where inspectors have confirmed the presence of a highly infectuous strain of bird flu, officials and local media said Sunday. The outbreak was detected at a farm in Biddinghuizen, about 70 kilometers (43 miles) west of Amsterdam, where about 180,000 ducks were put down together with another 10,000 within a one kilometer radius, the Dutch food and safety watchdog […]
(Reuters) — Scientists in the United States have developed a flexible microfluidic device that easily sticks to the skin and measures sweat levels to show how the wearer’s body is responding to exercise. The low-cost device, which can quickly analyse key elements such as lactate, Ph or glucose levels and let the user know if they should stop or change their activity, could also in future help diagnose and monitor disease, the researchers said. “Sweat […]
SHANGHAI, China (AFP) — China, the world’s biggest cigarette producer and consumer, aims to impose national smoking-control regulations by the end of this year, authorities said Tuesday. The Asian giant has the world’s largest smoking population, with 28 percent of all adults and half of its adult men estimated to regularly use cigarettes. The World Health Organization (WHO) says a million people in China die of tobacco-related illnesses annually, with second-hand smoke contributing to some […]
BANGKOK, Thailand (Reuters) – Thai health officials on Wednesday said 33 new Zika virus cases have been detected in the country as officials step up screening for groups at high risk from the disease such as pregnant women. “We confirmed 33 new cases last week and have detected the virus in two further provinces,” Ministry of Public Health spokesman Suwannachai Wattanayingcharoenchai told Reuters. Suwannachai said health campaigns warning travelers about Zika have been increased as […]
PARIS, France (AFP) — The number of people across the globe suffering from high blood pressure has almost doubled over the past four decades, with the biggest rise in south Asia and Africa, researchers said Wednesday. “High blood pressure is the leading risk factor for stroke and heart disease, and kills around 7.5 million people worldwide every year,” said lead author Professor Majid Ezzati from Imperial College in London. “Taken globally, high blood pressure is […]
