HEALTH

The chief executives of the biggest U.S. health insurance companies were called to testify about industry practices before a congressional hearing examining coverage, costs and claim denials.

Younger Americans are being exposed to worrisome amounts of radiation from medical scans that increase their risk of cancer, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday.

Scientific advisers to President Barack Obama may have asked the government to speed up the availability of swine flu vaccines, but they are unlikely to be ready before October, the new head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Wednesday.

Senator Edward Kennedy called providing health insurance for all Americans

Hormone-based drugs that help treat aggressive prostate cancer may be dangerous for some men with heart disease, U.S. researchers reported on Tuesday.

People as young as 45 with high blood pressure are more likely to have memory troubles, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday in a study suggesting aggressive early treatment of the condition may pay huge dividends.

China launched its first national organ donation system in a bid to crack down on organ trafficking and create a source for transplants other than executed prisoners, who currently make up the majority of donors.

Even as the US lowers the lead levels allowed in paint dramatically, paint with dangerously high lead levels is still being sold for household use worldwide, putting hundreds of millions of young children at risk of permanent brain damage,

In the United States, there has been an increase in cases of typhoid fever resistant to the drugs most commonly used against the illness, federal health officials reported Tuesday.

You've heard about using marijuana and drugs derived from it to keep some of the side effects of toxic cancer chemotherapy in check. But what if smoking marijuana for 10 to 20 years could actually protect against certain tumors?

Tobacco use will kill 6 million people next year from cancer, heart disease, emphysema and a range of other ills, global cancer experts said in a report issued on Tuesday.

Vietnam will ban smoking in all indoor public places next year and raise tariffs on tobacco products to reduce consumption, the government said.

A sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer is also to blame for half of all cases of cancer of the penis, Spanish researchers said on Tuesday.

AIDS expert Dr. Helene Gayle, president and chief executive of the charity CARE USA, has been named to chair the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS, the U.S. government said on Monday.

Higher testosterone levels might explain why some women seek out risky financial trading jobs while others stick to more stable business careers, U.S. researchers reported on Monday.

Video games might be regarded as an obsession for youngsters but in fact the average player is aged 35, often overweight, introverted and may be depressed, according to a U.S. study.

If you're dining with overweight friends, beware.

The American Heart Association's recommendation on Monday to cut back dramatically on sugar may be a blow or opportunity for soft drink makers, who have been accused of helping fuel the U.S. obesity epidemic.

The long-distance joggler understands better than most that the race is not always to the swiftest.

Americans need to cut back dramatically on sugar consumption, the American Heart Association said on Monday in a recommendation that is likely to rile food and beverage companies.

Asia is going to be way short of the new H1N1 vaccine to fight swine flu when the next surge of infections hits during the cold season this year, a spokesman for the World Health Organization said on Tuesday.

Healthy patients who get H1N1 swine flu without suffering complications do not need to be treated with antivirals like Tamiflu, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday.

The flu drugs Tamiflu and Relenza may not be worthwhile to treat seasonal influenza in healthy adults, British researchers reported on Friday.

U.S. President Barack Obama hammered away at

Calls to poison control centers for U.S. teenagers who have overdosed on attention deficit drugs rose 76 percent over eight years, researchers reported on Monday.

People who stay even moderately fit as they age may live longer than those who are out-of-shape, a new study suggests.

A study in Taiwan has found that smokers are twice as likely to develop active tuberculosis compared to people who have never smoked, prompting calls for policymakers to be tougher on smoking.

While many countries have banned terms like

In Denmark, introduction of iodine-fortified salt was associated with an initial rise, then a subsequent decline, in cases of overactive thyroid, or