HIV infection rate in babies drops in Gauteng

The HIV infection rate in newborn babies has decreased by more than half in Gauteng, says the provincial Department of Health and Social Development. Read more >>

Early administration of GIK solution lessens severity of heart attacks

[Helen Dodson] USA: A national study under the direction of a Yale physician, involving Yale-New Haven Hospital and New Haven-area paramedics and EMTs, has shown that patients suffering heart attack symptoms who receive early administration of a glucose-insulin-potassium (GIK) solution suffer less-severe heart attacks and fewer cardiac arrests or deaths. Read more >>

Break bread on Table Mountain for peace

The annual Table of Peace & Unity held on Table Mountain will again see the public, dignitaries, celebrities and religious leaders getting together to enjoy a festive meal on 13 May - Mother's Day - for the pleasure of breaking bread with a wonderful diversity of strangers and raising funds for organisations working with abused, vulnerable and orphaned children across South Africa. Read more >>

Govt recognises the importance of aquaculture

[Nthambeleni Gabara] Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister, Tina Joemat-Pettersson, says government recognises the importance of aquaculture and the role it will play in sustaining production of food fish. Read more >>

Consumers' views on generics changing

More than 50% of South Africans today would rather choose a generic over a brand name prescription drug according to IMS Health South Africa, a marketing research company to the healthcare sector. Read more >>

Yale Nobel laureate creates compound that halts growth of malaria parasite

[Bill Hathaway] A drug candidate that has shown promise for neutralizing dangerous bacteria also prevents growth of the parasite that causes malaria, new research by a Yale University team headed by Nobel laureate Sidney Altman shows. Read more >>

Half of all cancers are preventable: study

WASHINGTON, USA: Half of all cancers could be prevented if people just adopted healthier behaviors, US scientists argued on Wednesday, 28 March 2012. Read more >>

Chocolate-eaters have lower body mass: study

WASHINGTON, USA: Healthy people who exercise and also eat chocolate regularly tend to have a lower body mass index than those who eat the rich brown sweets less often, a US study suggested on Monday, 26 March 2012. Read more >>

Researchers unravel genetic mechanism of fatty liver disease in obese children

[Karen N. Peart] Obese youths with particular genetic variants may be more prone to fatty liver disease, a leading cause of chronic liver disease in children and adolescents in industrialized countries, according to new findings by Yale School of Medicine researchers. Read more >>

Scientists develop first snap shot of tiny brain tumours

Cancer Research UK scientists have developed a technique they believe could be used to detect tiny secondary tumours in the brain, a process that is currently impossible, according to research published in PNAS, yesterday, 26 March 2012. Read more >>

Immune system turning on itself may trigger melanoma growth

[Helen Dodson] A new study by researchers from Yale and Johns Hopkins reveals the molecular pathway by which the body's inflammatory immune response may trigger its own inhibition, protecting tumor cells from destruction and allowing the growth of melanoma - the deadliest form of skin cancer. The study currently appears in Science Translational Medicine. Read more >>

R1m Dettol donation helps establish Centre of Childhood Infectious Diseases

Dettol South Africa this week donated R1m towards the building of a Centre for Childhood Infectious Diseases at the Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital. Globally, approximately 21 000 children under the age of five died every day in 2010, equating to 7.6 million [1] children or more than 20 deaths every five seconds. In South Africa, 5.7% of all live births [2], or one in every 17 newborns, resulted in death in 2010. Read more >>

Biovac to manufacture combo vaccines for Sanofi Pasteur

The Biovac Institute will be partnering with multi-national pharmaceutical company, Sanofi Pasteur, in a technology transfer to locally manufacture one of the leading combination vaccines, it was announced yesterday, 2 April 2012. Read more >>

US won't ban chemical BPA from food packages

WASHINGTON, USA: US regulators on Friday, 30 March 2012, rejected an appeal by environmental groups to ban an industrial chemical known as bisphenol-A, saying there was not enough scientific evidence of harm in humans. Read more >>

Motorists warned ahead of Easter break

Transport Minister Sibusiso Ndebele has once again called on road users to exercise extra caution on the country's roads, as traffic volumes are expected to increase from today ahead of the Easter holidays. Read more >>

Public, private health sector pledge support for NHI

[Gabi Khumalo] Health stakeholders from the private and public sector have pledged their support for the National Health Insurance (NHI), although some are still concerned about how the scheme will be implemented. Read more >>