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New research helps in war against international drugs trade

An increased demand for meat in Afghanistan could play an important role in stemming the international flow of heroin, according to a new study led by the Macaulay Institute, Aberdeen.

24 Jan 2006

Cannabis use does not cause schizophrenia

According to a new report by a British government advisory body, the regular use of cannabis though it can have real and significant mental health effects it is unlikely to cause schizophrenia.

24 Jan 2006

Education campaign on umbilical cord and placental blood donation

The New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services Commissioner Fred M. Jacobs, M.D., J.D. has launched an educational campaign to inform expectant mothers of the life-saving value of newborn umbilical cord and placental blood.

23 Jan 2006

UNICEF seeks $805 million for humanitarian efforts

UNICEF appealed to donors today to provide $805 million to assist children and women in 29 humanitarian emergencies.

23 Jan 2006

Asbestos reform critical in stopping fraudulent lawsuits

The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) has encouraged Congress to pass S. 852, the Fairness in Asbestos Injury Resolution Act (FAIR Act). The legislation establishes a trust fund to reimburse true victims of asbestos exposure while limiting the actions of trial lawyers.

23 Jan 2006

Donor rates in New Zealand hit an all time low

In a rather worrying trend it seems that figures recently released show that New Zealand has hit an all time low in the number of organ donors it has.

16 Jan 2006

Virgin takes off with cancer insurance

Entrepreneur Richard Branson's Virgin Money Life is now launching a new cancer cover insurance package called The Big V which, it claims, is 45 percent cheaper than standard critical illness cover.

11 Jan 2006

U.S. states fail the grade when it comes to dealing with a major emergency

According to a report by the American College of Emergency Physicians, the United States is ill prepared to tackle any kind of major emergency.

10 Jan 2006

British research says daughters turn parents to left, sons to right

New research by economists Professor Andrew Oswald at the University of Warwick, and Dr Nattavudh Powdthavee at London University's Institute of Education, reveals that the more daughters a family has the more likely the parents are to vote for left of centre parties. Sons, by contrast, make people more right-wing.

10 Jan 2006

Fuel for Living - Government dishes up recipes for health

Almost a third (33 per cent) of 16-24 year olds admit they have passed off a ready meal as their own creation when they wanted to impress someone according to a Department of Health.

10 Jan 2006

Women live the longest, but the men are catching up

In latest figures released by NSW Health, the life expectancy for babies born in NSW is up to ten years longer than their parents born a generation ago. In NSW between 1973 and 2003, life expectancy at birth steadily increased from 68.6 to 78.6 for males, and from 75.6 to 83.4 for females.

10 Jan 2006

Asbestos: the iron grip of latency

It happens every day somewhere in Europe: a building from the 1950s is demolished. A few children on their way back from school watch the giant bulldozer at work. The engine has already attacked the ground floor - apparently nobody has noticed the asbestos pads…

10 Jan 2006

Overweight people not interested in healthy lifestyle

According to a poll in the UK more than a quarter of obese and overweight people do not want to lose weight, and many were unable to identify their weight category.

9 Jan 2006

Insight into how marajuana induced munchies works

Marijuana--or more specifically its active ingredient, tetrahydrocannabinol--has a well-documented tendency to stimulate hunger. And while scientists have traced this property to cannabinoid receptors in the brain, they have had little understanding of the neural circuitry underlying this effect.

22 Dec 2005

Cannabis medication linked to grandmother's death

A British grandmother who died after being given a controversial and experimental cannabis-based medicine had apparently told her family that she thought the drug was driving her mad.

19 Dec 2005

Canadians call for decriminalisation of prostitution

In a new report the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network has called for the federal government to decriminalize prostitution.

14 Dec 2005

UK surgeon in Iraq tells story

A consultant surgeon and visiting lecturer at the University of Southampton has described one of the many untold stories of the 2003 Iraq war in a compelling book Blood, Heat and Dust. It is an account of the campaign seen through the eyes of the military doctors and nurses who worked in the war zone.

13 Dec 2005