MEDICINE

Driving a convertible with the roof down might be exhilarating, but it could also damage your hearing, according to British scientists.

Vaccination programs against H1N1 swine flu are under way in the United States, China and Australia and will begin soon in parts of Europe.

Shares of health insurers slumped on Thursday as analysts said a report issued on a key U.S. Senate healthcare reform bill should give the legislation a boost.

Vaccination programs against H1N1 swine flu are under way in the United States, China and Australia and will begin soon in parts of Europe.

Swiss drugmaker Novartis AG gained exclusive worldwide rights to a drug candidate already in late-stage trials for treatment of drug-resistant bacteria like MRSA, it said on Thursday.

The quality of healthcare Americans receive depends largely on where they live, with insurance coverage, access to preventive medicine and disease treatment varying widely from state to state, according to a study released on Thursday by the Commonwealth Foundation.

Doctors should pay more attention to the link between common mental illness and obesity in patients because the two health problems are closely linked, according to researchers at the University of Adelaide.

There are some valuable lessons Americans can learn from Australia's health care system and vice versa, according to a Macquarie University academic and expert in the field.

Deaths from lung cancer are higher than for any other form of cancer, with more than 8,000 Australians diagnosed each year - but the latest technology being demonstrated at The University of Western Australia offers new hope to sufferers.

Thousands of Indian women die needlessly during pregnancy and childbirth, and the scale of these preventable deaths is unknown due to poor public health records, a report said Wednesday.

A new pocket-sized device may allow doctors to check a woman's breast cancer risk in minutes with just droplets of blood or a sliver of breast tissue, Canadian researchers said on Wednesday.

Overweight or underweight children who are seen in the emergency department are more likely to be admitted to the hospital, and to stay longer, than normal-weight youngsters, according to a study

Eating lots of whole grains could ward off high blood pressure, according to a study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Vaccination against the H1N1 swine flu is off to a slow start in the United States, but states have ordered more than 2 million doses of mostly nasal spray for the first patients, a top health official said on Tuesday.

Instead of protecting against diabetes, antioxidants -- compounds in foods and supplements that prevent cell damage -- may actually increase the chances of getting diabetes, at least in the early stages, Australian researchers reported on Tuesday.

Common asthma reliever drugs taken by millions of children around the world may increase the risk of asthma attacks in some patients with a particular genetic make-up, British scientists said on Tuesday.

Sorry coffee lovers -- downing a few cups of coffee throughout the day may spark alertness, but it's unlikely to protect the aging brain from mental decline or dementia, according to researchers from Finland

Horrorcore singer Richard Samuel McCroskey III - a subgenre of hip hop with lyrics and imagery horror themed- has been arrested relating a killing in Farmville, Virginia.

A rule that requires New York City fast food restaurants to post calorie information on their menu boards has not changed consumer habits in low-income neighborhoods, according to a study published on Tuesday.

A vaccine helped block the high felt by cocaine users in 38 percent of people who took it, U.S. researchers said on Monday, offering promise of a new approach to treating those addicted to the drug.

U.S. schools are doing a little better to limit the amount of junk food students can buy in vending machines or elsewhere, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Monday.