HEALTH & MEDICINE

The breakthrough that the medical community has been waiting appears to have finally happened. U.S. scientists announced on Sunday the cure of a Mississippi child born with AIDS.

Souvenir hunters would probably find the memorabilia that the family of scientist Francis Crick is putting up on sale at Heritage Auction a good bargain despite the opening bid set at $243,000.

The Centre for Eye Research Australia in Melbourne is experimenting with the use of skin cells from patients with macular degeneration by turning them into stem cells to create new retinal cells.

Detection of pancreatic cancer now becomes easier and more accurate, thanks to the breakthrough discovery that 15-year-old innovator Jack Andraka

The number of hospital admissions related to respiratory complaints has risen in China and may continue to rise as the country's residents continue to experience yet again another toxic smog pollution which is seen could be exacerbated by a prevailing cold front.

New Councilor Richard Foster is pushing for a total ban on smoking in public places throughout the city of Melbourne. The planned prohibition would include Bourke Street, City Square and even footpaths.

Harvard geneticist George Church clarified on Monday reports that he is seeking an adventurous woman willing to allow science the use of her womb to give birth to a Neanderthal child from ancient DNA.

When most, if not all, parents thought that sibling rivalry occurs only at stages when their children, most specially twins, get to understand the concept, a video research conducted by London doctors on twins showed the fight for supremacy starts early from inside the womb.

A 20-year-old woman who has not aged in the past 15 years appeared again recently on television, as doctors and researchers remain mystified about her condition. It appears there is no one else in the world who has the same condition as Brooke Greenberg.

Yaya Lu, a 16-year-old resident of Hobart, Australia, has developed a voice-controlled system for a wheelchair, which could benefit quadriplegics. For this invention, the teenager, who has Chinese ancestry, won the Gold CREST Award, a top science award for students given by the Commonwealth Science Agency CSIRO.

The McCusker Alzheimer's Research Foundation in Perth is seeking 400 males aged 60 and above who will participate in a 14-month trial using a combination of testosterone and fish oil believed to prevent or postpone Alzheimer's.

Like other New Years, Jan 1, 2013 started with many people including going on a diet in their New Year's Resolutions. Some will fail in their diets while others may succeed in the next 12 months.

In the near future, there are chances that diabetics would no longer need injections to receive insulin. The hope of needle-free insulin shots comes from a research by Australian scientists at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute (WEHI) in Melbourne.

In 2012, 23andMe, the world's largest private genomics company, conducted DNA tests on 180,000 people to assess over 200 genetic traits and health risks. Since 23andMe brought down the price of a DNA testing kit to $99, the company expects to be deluged by requests for DNA testing in 2013.

Like previous yearend holidays, 2012 ended with a lot of feasting across different nations and continents. The menu varied from national favourite dishes to traditional yearend holiday food ranging from pasta to fresh fruit.

A study by the Institute de Veille Sanitaire in France, released on Thursday, found that for the years 1989 through 2005, the sperm count in one millilitre of an average 35-year-old Frenchman dropped to 50 million from 74 million.

Two separate studies released this week present findings that would perplex nutrition advocates but make children happy. The reasons are that a new research from the Federico 2 University of Naples in Italy insists that French fries are healthy, while a review article in the Canadian Medical Association Journal said a chemical in grapefruit could be fatal to some people on certain medication.

More evidence continues to be discovered of the dangers of smoking to human health. The latest is a study made by researchers at King's College London that smoking is more dangerous to the brain than high blood pressure and obesity.

While the name laptop connotes that this device be placed on a person's lap while computing, doctors have warned against the practice because of its potential damage to male sperm.

Despite having two unusual genetic disorders when he was born, Arpan Saxena from Bhopal, India still exudes positive attitude about his current condition and appearance. The 4-year-old boy, who has 13 fingers and 12 toes, reportedly likes the kind of attention he receives worldwide.

Australian researchers are seeking 100 women willing to be part of a clinical trial of Tefina, a testosterone gel in the form of a nasal spray to boost sexual arousal of females. The trial, which would also be conducted in the U.S. and Canada, would need subjects between the ages 18 and 49.

A 28kg-tumour was removed from a woman in Germany. The woman was previously diagnosed as merely obese. Here are five things you need to know about tumours and the German woman's condition.

Australian scientists have determined the set of mutated genes that cause pancreatic cancer. The findings were featured in the journal Nature.

What is "C. diff," and why is it called a deadly superbug? Australian health experts are warning the public through the media that people are at risk of being exposed to the deadly C diff bug, which may not be detected in routine testing.

If there is one good thing that the controversial comparison of the health of gay people and smokers by the head of the Australian Christian Lobby group has achieved, it is to seek more information on the health of homosexuals.

The furor over the remarks by Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) leader Jim Wallace that the gay lifestyle is more dangerous than smoking refuses to die.

Suggestions from the Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) that a gay lifestyle is more hazardous than smoking caused Prime Minister Julia Gillard on Thursday to pull out from addressing the lobby's national conference in October.

In a Central Sweden laboratory, mankind’s answer to life-stealing cancer is being subjected to a serious study. The potential cancer-stopper, “adenovirus serotype 5,” is a common virus. One of the scienstists working on it describes it as “an assassin who kills all the bad guys.” Is Science finally somewhere close to putting a stop to cancer?

Queensland wants to ban tanning salon use in the state by the end of 2014. Queensland Health Minister Lawrence Springborg cited the increased health risks to cancer as justification for the state legislation that pushes for the prohibition on solariums.