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UN experts say people in India have greater access to cell phones than improved sanitation

Far more people in India have access to a cell phone than to a toilet and improved sanitation, according to UN experts who published today a 9-point prescription for achieving the world's Millennium Development Goal (MDG) for sanitation by 2015.

15 Apr 2010

Communities close to oil sands have better air quality than larger cities, says UA researcher

Warren Kindzierski, University of Alberta researcher in the School of Public Health, says people living in the communities of Fort McMurray, Fort Mckay and Fort Chipewyan should feel confident that the air they are breathing is safe.

15 Apr 2010

Bedtime video-games have no significant effect on adolescents’ sleep patterns

A study in the April 15 issue of the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine suggests that playing a video game before bedtime has only a mild effect on the sleep of older male teens.

15 Apr 2010

Fathers of sexually abused children suffer from anxiety, grief and depression, says study

The preliminary results of a Universit- de Montr-al study show that fathers of sexually abused children can suffer from anxiety, depression and grief. Such patriarchs are often overwhelmed by a desire for vengeance, yet little literature exists to help them deal with their pain.

15 Apr 2010

Low calorie diet does not promote significant weight loss

Newly-published research by scientists at Oregon Health & Science University demonstrates that simply reducing caloric intake is not enough to promote significant weight loss.

15 Apr 2010

Fathers can play a significant role in reducing teen smoking

Results indicated that one of the strongest protective factors for reducing the risk of experimenting with smoking in early adolescence was how often fathers talked with their children, both boys and girls, about 'things that mattered'.

15 Apr 2010

G8 focus on maternal, child health should include efforts to improve sanitation, report author says

Part of Canada's push to make maternal and child health a focal point of the upcoming G8 summit in June should include an emphasis on efforts to improve sanitation in the world's poorest countries, according to an author of a report released Wednesday, Canwest News Service/Vancouver Sun reports.

15 Apr 2010

Use of silver dressing in burn cases questioned

The use of expensive silver dressing in burn cases is being brought under the scanner by an editorial in the Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin. The NHS has increased its spending from £23 million in 2005 to around £25 million in 2006/7 on such products. The author asks if expensive silver dressing is really justified when cheaper alternatives are available.

15 Apr 2010

First lady Obama visits Haiti

First lady Michelle Obama, along with Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden, "paid a surprise visit to Haiti Tuesday, witnessing the 'powerful' devastation left in the wake of a massive earthquake three months ago," Agence-France Presse reports.

15 Apr 2010

Second stage of pool laws will cost a precious buck to 70% pool owners

The Bligh Government yesterday released further changes in the pool safety laws and nearly 70% of all Gold Coast and Queensland homes with pools, including portable and inflatable ones will need to spend extra on upgrades.

14 Apr 2010

Dual evacuation following noxious gas leak

According to the Public Services Association there has been a constant leak of noxious fumes from a Newcastle office building for years and the source needs to be identified. The building has RTA call centre staff and Commonwealth Bank customer service representatives as its tenants.

14 Apr 2010

New additions to NewReality's extensive library of personal improvement

NewReality, the world's leading weight loss supplier of NXT™ format technology for recorded audio material, announced today the newest additions to its extensive library of personal improvement and advanced learning topics. The new programs include: stress reduction; weight loss; smoking cessation; and golf improvement.

13 Apr 2010

News outlets report on food crisis in Sahel region of Africa

A food crisis is developing across the Sahel region - from Mauritania and Guinea to Nigeria and Sudan - where "[m]illions" of people are facing hunger and malnutrition, aid groups say, afrol News reports.

13 Apr 2010

Health care experts brand plan for a “Big Australia” as disaster waiting to happen

Increased immigration rates are set to make Australia’s population hit 36 million by the year 2050 according to Federal Government estimates. This would be a huge leap from the present 22,300,000 people that the nation has today. The added population is being seen as a necessity to ensure economical survival for the country.

13 Apr 2010

Hunter Valley cancer cluster report to be made public

Cancer cases may have manifested as brain tumors in the local population in Upper Hunter Valley as a result of pollution from mines and power stations. With five residents in a single block in Singleton being diagnosed with brain tumors a public inquiry to establish just how harmful dust and toxins from the mines and power stations are had been constituted by the state government.

13 Apr 2010

Team of neurologists from the U.S. face Canadian neurologists in annual "Neurobowl"

In a competition modeled after TV quiz shows, a team of neurologists from the United States will face Canadian neurologists in the annual "Neurobowl®" on April 11.

12 Apr 2010

International Red Cross continues to provide much needed relief in Haiti

Three months after an earthquake devastated Haiti, the International Red Cross continues to provide much needed relief to those affected by this tragedy.

12 Apr 2010

After Haiti visit, Congresswoman says she saw no sign of Red Cross

After a visit to Haiti, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) said Thursday that she did not see evidence of the organization during a trip to the country earlier this week with Sens. Mary Landrieu (D-La.), Kristin Gilibrand (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas), The Hill's Washington Scene reports.

12 Apr 2010

Combating a frequently overlooked assassin: Water

When a hurricane, earthquake or wildfire strikes, a variety of supplies and equipment is needed to respond and aid victims. But, clean water is a common denominator; its demand is chronic and ubiquitous. In fact, dirty water is one of Mother Nature's overlooked assassins. More than one million people perish each year after imbibing it, and according to the World Health Organization, more than one billion people lack access to its clean counterpart.

12 Apr 2010

Labour’s cancer leaflet campaign questioned

Last month more than 250,000 personalized leaflets were sent out to women with a warning that a Conservative government would scrap a Labour guarantee that all suspected breast cancer patients would be seen by a specialist within two weeks of GP referral. They also claimed that the Conservative party will take away the right to be treated for cancer within 18 weeks. According to a Sunday Times report some of the recipients of this leaflet were cancer patients or cancer survivors.

12 Apr 2010