SCIENCE

(Reuters) - Sellers of ginseng, echinacea and other herbal and dietary supplements often cross the line in marketing their products, going as far as telling consumers the pills can cure cancer or replace prescription medications, a U.S. government probe found.

Backtracking by international donors in funding for HIV/AIDS may undermine years of progress and is already putting lives at risk, the health aid group Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said on Thursday.

Australian Medical Association (AMA) vice president Steve Hambleton has urged caution on the risk of taking up cosmetic plastic surgery and dental holidays offered by a new launched Gold Coast Business.

An Ombudsman's report, released yesterday, has rocked the Brumby government just six months out from the election. The report released indicated that the state has failed to protect some of the foster children in its care

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Helping kids with autism learn how to communicate doesn't improve their symptoms, British researchers reported at an international meeting on the developmental disorder.

(Reuters) - Laws requiring U.S. restaurant chains to list calorie counts have not stopped them from offering unhealthy meals that pack in calories, fat and salt, a group that encourages healthy food said on Tuesday.

(Reuters) - About half of the 65 million people in the United States who have high blood pressure now have it under control, up from 27 percent two decades ago, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday.

Britain's General Medical Council has struck Dr Andrew Wakefield from the medical register and found him guilty of serious professional misconduct after he published a research suggesting a link between a common vaccine and autism.

Medical doctors fear that there will be a widespread of Clostridium difficile in Australia when three elderly patients at a Melbourne private hospital were reported to be infected by the bug.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Scientists are no strangers to spinning their research, a new study -- presumably not spun -- shows.

U.S. health regulators have cautioned doctors and patients of an increased risk of fractures of the hip, wrist, and spine from high doses or long-term use of a widely used class of drugs to control the amount of acid in the stomach.

University students who are frugal on just baked beans and two-minute noodles are at greater risk of developing chronic diseases, according to a new Australian study.

Experts have recorded a positive outlook on the rising number of Australians seeking treatment to get off heroin addiction. However, it also reveals the nation's sporadic heroin supply.

Hospitals are now plagued by another source of hospital-acquired infection, putting health workers and patients at risk, says British researchers.

Scientists say that allergy sufferers are less likely to contract cancer than anyone else.

Australian dads may do less housework and childcare comparing to Australian women but new research shows that Australian dads fare better than fathers in Italy, France and even Denmark.

Ten people have been cleared of the preliminary blood tests of the potentially fatal Hendra virus following contact with an infected horse on Queensland's Sunshine Coast.

A group of Spanish researchers claimed that they have found a link that suggests the occasional drink keeps the illness at bay especially in women and non-smokers.

Growing demand for healthy food has encouraged food manufacturing companies to leverage health and wellness into various products. This is likely to be seen in dairy products such as Danone's Actimel and Unilever's Benecol.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Consumers who opt for organic foods often believe they are improving their health, but there is currently no strong evidence that organics bring nutrition-related health benefits, a new research review finds.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Parents can rest assured that getting kids their vaccine shots on time will not hurt their mental skills later on, doctors said on Monday.

(Reuters) - Fewer children are dying around the world, with deaths among children under 5 falling in almost every country, U.S. researchers reported on Sunday.

Australian mothers-to-be may be facing too much pressure on becoming yummy mummy or rather looking good whilst pregnant, researchers say.

Researchers discovered that eating more fruits and vegetables could be a way to a perfect tan rather than baking in the sun.

AN ENVIRONMENTAL lobby group has accused a ''natural'' skincare company of misleading consumers about the use of nanoparticles in its products.

In response to a report that nearly half a million Australians are in urgent need of dental care, NSW Premier Kristina Keneally is being urged to lobby the federal government for a national dental health service.

South Australia (SA) has had the highest rate of donors per million of population in the country for the past six years, almost double the national rate.

Six out of nine people who were in contact with a Hendra virus-infected horse at the Queensland Sunshine Coast have been cleared of infection based on the preliminary test results

The latest study published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiary reveals older Australians as the country's primary consumers of antidepressant drugs, despite higher rates of depression observed among younger population.