HEALTH

Smokers often say they need a cigarette to calm their nerves, but a new study suggests that after a person kicks the habit, chronic stress levels may go down.

People who got vaccinated against the H1N1 swine flu virus may also be protected against the strain of influenza that killed 50 million to 100 million people in 1918, researchers reported on Tuesday.

President Barack Obama called on Republicans on Saturday to vote for a delay in cutting government Medicare insurance payments to doctors, taking aim at the opposition party in a renewed election-year push for his new healthcare law.

A senator on Sunday called on the FDA to reveal findings on a possible link between a chemical found in most sunscreens and skin cancer.

A widely used class of blood pressure drugs may slightly increase the risk of cancer, U.S. researchers said on Sunday, and they are calling on U.S. regulators to take a closer look.

Two extra mutations set the stage for the seasonal influenza virus to evolve into a form that now resists three of the four drugs designed to fight it, researchers reported on Thursday.

Concern over rising U.S. debt could force lawmakers to take another crack at reining in healthcare costs long before any promised savings from President Barack Obama's sweeping overhaul are realized.

Low doses of GlaxoSmithKline's diabetes drug Avandia combined with metformin can prevent diabetes without causing the most common side-effects, Canadian doctors reported on Wednesday.

Caffeine addiction is such a downer that regular coffee drinkers may get no real pick-me-up from their morning cup, according to a study by British scientists.

Children who eat three or more burgers a week may be at a higher risk of asthma and wheezing, but a healthy diet rich in fruit and fish seems to stave off the risk, according to a large international study.

The H1N1 pandemic is not yet over although its most intense activity has passed in many parts of the world, the World Health Organization said on Thursday after a review of the flu outbreak by independent experts.

A collaborative study by scientists from the UK and Kuwait found that the risk of the cancer rose with increasing numbers of dental X-rays.

School programs which include lessons on nutrition and food preparation for school students could be the key to curb Australia's high obesity rate, dietitians have been told.

(Reuters) - Common genetic differences have a limited role in causing breast cancer and work independently of lifestyle factors such as weight, diet and breastfeeding which are still more important, British scientists said on Wednesday.

(Reuters) - Cancer will kill more than 13.2 million people a year by 2030, almost double the number who died from the disease in 2008, the United Nations' cancer research agency said on Tuesday.

(Reuters) - Americans inhale more cancer-causing agents with their cigarettes, probably because of the tobacco blend, while smokers in Canada, Britain and Australia get less, U.S. researchers reported on Tuesday.

The arrival of winter can also highlight the presence of a mild form of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), when a person's mood turns gloomy along with the temperature and daylight hours.

THE Australian-made flu vaccine Fluvax, has been identified as being the most likely trigger of 59 convulsions in Western Australia and in about 20 cases elsewhere, including four in NSW and six in Victoria. All the babies, most of them under two years, recovered fully.

An Australian study has shown women who drink at least four cups of tea per day have a reduced risk of ovarian cancer.

Health experts warned that smokers could carry deadly bacteria which could pass on to their children.

Pressured by an aging population and the need to rein in budget deficits, Canada's provinces are taking tough measures to curb healthcare costs, a trend that could erode the principles of the popular state-funded system.

(Reuters) - The Group of Eight industrialized nations plan to invest in better health for mothers and young children in poor nations to meet faltering goals for slashing world poverty by 2015, a draft text for a G8 summit said.

(Reuters) - Scientists have identified a chemical compound that can stop the H5N1 bird flu virus as well as seasonal human flu viruses from replicating.

Repatriation Hospital at Daw Park in Adelaide has been reported to have critical leaking roofs and animal droppings which poses health risks to its patients, says The Australian Medical Association (AMA).

A new video of a smoking Indonesian toddler has emerged, shocking health experts.

Experts have developed an experimental vaccine which shows promising result in preventing breast cancer in mice.

Australian doctors are considering introducing a controversial form of genital mutilation carried out on baby girls.

A group of British nutritionists fear that the current official advice to women, which recommends they eat no more than two portions of fish a week, could risk an increase of brain disorders in children.

According to researchers, babies born by caesarean section are more vulnerable to asthma, allergies and infection as they miss out on their mothers' good protective bacteria during birth.