Miscellaneous News

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Celebrity UV Guide, using star skin types as a guide to when people should cover up

Britons are missing vital weather warnings that could help reduce their risk of skin cancer. New figures show more than 70% of people questioned in a special survey do not know what the UV Index is despite its frequent appearance on TV weather forecasts and websites.

23 May 2005

Australian partnership to rebuild Banda Aceh Hospital

The Australian Government, in partnership with Indonesia and Germany, will further progress the reconstruction of the Zainoel Abidin hospital in Banda Aceh, severely damaged in the Boxing Day tsunami, the Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Mr Bruce Billson, announced Friday (20th May 2005).

23 May 2005

Disability Rights Groups condemn British health secretary over right to life case

British health secretary, Patricia Hewitt, has been condemned by disability rights campaigners for suggesting terminally ill people should not be able to insist on life-prolonging treatment.

20 May 2005

Genetically modified rice will not eliminate hunger in China

Boosting food production with genetically modified (GM) rice is unlikely to eliminate hunger in China, states an editorial in this week’s issue of The Lancet.

19 May 2005

Statement from The Lancet in response to Stephen Cox of The Royal Society

The statement from Stephen Cox published (May 19, 2005) is astonishing. He fails to address any of the arguments set out in The Lancet’s editorial of May 21, 2005. His deeply personal invective directed against me, in response to an editorial that avoided all direct personal criticism of individuals, does a disservice to his important role as Executive Secretary of the Royal Society. Here are the facts:

19 May 2005

Right-to-life case doctors backed by British Government

The British Government has directly intervened in a right-to-life case being heard at the Court of Appeal with a message to judges that giving patients the right to demand life-prolonging treatment would have "very serious implications" for the National Health Service (NHS).

18 May 2005

Only 34% of polling stations accessible to disabled people

Sixty-six per cent of polling stations surveyed failed a basic access test for disabled people, according to Scope’s Polls Apart campaign, which tested the accessibility of polling stations and postal voting in the General Election earlier this month.

18 May 2005

Prince Charles calls for a more holistic approach towards medicine

The Prince of Wales, who has long been a strong supporter of homeopathic medicine, has called for a more holistic approach towards medicine and the nation's health.

18 May 2005

Unlucky news for Kylie Minogue

The 36-year-old Australian Pop Diva was diagnosed with breast cancer while visiting her family at home in Melbourne, her management confirmed.

17 May 2005

Big pharma gets the desired results from medical journals

“Medical journals are an extension of the marketing arm of pharmaceutical companies,” argues Richard Smith, former editor of the BMJ and now Chief Executive of UnitedHealth Europe, in a provocative essay published in the open access international health journal PLoS Medicine.

17 May 2005

Safety belts in police cars may be life threatening

The hypothesis that the personal equipment or the uniform might affect the function of the seat belt in a collision was put to test. The study points out that an alternative, professional use of vehicles ought to be more generally considered in relation to the crash safety aspects.

17 May 2005

Bill Gates calls on world leaders to seize opportunity to improve health

In a major address today to international health officials, Bill Gates said the world now has a "historic chance" to achieve dramatic improvements in health, and called on governments, the scientific community, and the private sector to more aggressively fight the diseases that affect hundreds of millions of the world's poorest people each year.

16 May 2005

Parents of new born convicted of reckless homicide

A newborn baby girl died unnecessarily because her parents rejected medical intervention for their ailing daughter.

15 May 2005

If you want to avoid smoke-filled pubs you will be better off in the south of England

If you want to avoid smoke-filled pubs you will be better off in the south of England than in the north according to a snapshot survey published today by the British Medical Association (BMA). In an attempt to establish just how many pubs will be exempt from laws banning smoking in enclosed workplaces, the BMA found wide regional differences with a strong north-south divide.

12 May 2005

Fertility clinics across the United States already ensure that donated sperm is safe, regardless of the sexual orientation of the donor

The American Fertility Association (AFA) disagrees with the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) sperm donation guidelines, which take effect on May 25, 2005.

12 May 2005

Another thing to add to the fright list - a killer summer for Britain!

Because the Met Office in London are predicting that average British temperatures in July and August this year could be unusually high, with potentially devastating consequences, the British Government has acted to combat a disaster that they feel could threaten thousands of lives - a hot summer.

11 May 2005