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Discovery of a receptor that appears to function as one "lock" that HSV opens to allow it to enter human cells

It's one of the most common viruses in America, and one that causes the most guilt and shame. It can get inside almost any kind of human cell, reproduce in vast numbers, and linger for years in the body, causing everything from recurrent genital blisters to sores around the mouth. Its complications can kill, and it may increase susceptibility to many nerve and brain disorders.

24 Jul 2005

New clues for the understanding of dementia

Researchers at the Medical Research Council MRC Prion Unit and the Department of Neurodegenerative Disease at the Institute of Neurology, University College London - in collaboration with groups from Copenhagen, Aarhus, Lund and Cambridge - have identified a gene that, when mutated, causes an early onset dementia.

24 Jul 2005

Survey shows lead, tobacco exposure may be down in U.S., but blood and urine samples, awash with chemicals

According to the latest U.S. government survey on chemical exposures, levels of lead have dropped dramatically, exposure to second-hand smoke is down and most women are not carrying unsafe levels of mercury.

23 Jul 2005

Arsenic caused the madness of King George III

According to a newly released study, high concentrations of arsenic have been found in a sample of King George III's hair, and this, say the authors, may have contributed to his unusually severe and prolonged bouts of madness.

23 Jul 2005

For severe hemorrhoids surgery is best

According to a review of previous studies, regarding the treatment of severe hemorrhoids,surgical removal is the treatment of choice.

23 Jul 2005

NHS pays damages to woman who contracted MRSA

A National Health hospital in the UK has been forced to pay damages to a patient who contracted the superbug MRSA.

23 Jul 2005

UK health services regulator says NHS still leaves a lot to be desired

The UK Healthcare Commission, in its second annual report to Parliament, says that a quarter of people waited more than two days for an appointment with their GP, despite Government assurances that almost everyone can see a doctor within 48 hours.

23 Jul 2005

Many testicular cancer patients are able to father children

According to Dr Robert Huddart of the Institute of Cancer Research in London, the vast majority of men, after testicular cancer treatment, can go on and have a family as normal.

23 Jul 2005

One shot testicular cancer drug as good as radiotherapy

A single dose of the drug carboplatin is as effective at treating testicular cancer as two to three weeks of radiotherapy.

23 Jul 2005

British holiday maker dies of rabies after dog bite in Goa

Health officials in the UK have confirmed that a woman who was bitten by a dog on her holiday in Goa, India, has died from rabies.

23 Jul 2005

Deaths from substance abuse on the increase in Northern Ireland

The UK Health Promotion Agency (HPA) says that in Northern Ireland, the number of people dying from solvent abuse has increased against trends in the rest of the UK.

23 Jul 2005

Wealthy kids are not always healthy kids

An international team of researchers from the UK, Estonia, Denmark and Norway, have found that children from poorer families are not necessarily less healthy than those with more affluent and better educated parents.

23 Jul 2005

Judgment against leading UK paediatrician Sir Roy Meadow, could damage child protection services

Sir Roy Meadow, one of the country's leading paediatricians, has been struck off, over evidence he gave at the trial of Sally Clark.

23 Jul 2005

Breast cancer drug Herceptin soon to be widely available on NHS

The British health secretary Patricia Hewitt has ordered a fast-track assessment of Herceptin, a drug which has shown great promise in treating the early stages of breast cancer.

23 Jul 2005

Doctors in the U.S. hope brain-dead woman will give birth

According to her family, a brain-dead, pregnant, American woman on life life-support, has reached the stage of pregnancy where her baby could survive outside the womb.

23 Jul 2005

Indonesia now has 155 cases of polio

According to the United Nations health agency, the number of cases in Indonesia's polio outbreak has now reached 155.

23 Jul 2005

Hidden secrets on the nature and timing of genome evolution in mammals revealed

Breakages in chromosomes in mammalian evolution have occurred at preferred rather than random sites as long thought, and many of the sites are involved in human cancers, an international team of 25 scientists has discovered.

21 Jul 2005

Arsenic in King George III's hair contributed to bouts of madness

A study revealing high concentrations of arsenic in a sample of King George III’s hair is published in this week’s issue of The Lancet. The authors believe the presence of arsenic in the King’s hair contributed to his unusually severe and prolonged bouts of madness.

21 Jul 2005

Radioisotopes from scans can trigger airport radiation alarms

People having a scan that involves radioisotopes should be warned that they could set off security radiation alarms in airports for up to 30 days after the procedure, state the authors of a case report in this week’s issue of The Lancet.

21 Jul 2005

One-day treatment with the anticancer drug carboplatin is as effective as radiotherapy for testicular cancer

One-day treatment with the anticancer drug carboplatin is as effective and less toxic than three weeks radiation therapy for a type of testicular cancer, according to a report published in this week’s issue of The Lancet.

21 Jul 2005