Pick n Pay runs Hampers Against Hunger

Pick n Pay has once again joined forces with Foodbank SA and the Times Media Group to feed those in need this festive season. The Hampers Against Hunger campaign in 2011 raised just over R500 000 and the retailer is again calling on shoppers to make a difference - no matter how small - to the many South Africans who face a bleak festive season this year. Read more >>

Human gut 'selects and nurtures' beneficial microbes

Animals, including humans, actively select the gut microbes that are the best partners and nurture them with nutritious secretions, a new Oxford University study suggests. Read more >>

How healthy are SA medical schemes?

[John Cranke] Rising costs, higher claims, aging profiles of membership and the prospect of the introduction of NHI lurking around every corner... Are medical schemes in trouble? Here's a look at the vital signs of medical schemes, the symptoms, the diagnosis and the prognosis for a healthy future. Read more >>

Discovery apologises for 'wrong' rules

[Tamar Kahn] South Africa's biggest medical scheme, Discovery Health, on Wednesday (21 November) apologised for misleading its 2.4m members about the requirements for convening a special general meeting, saying the rules on its website, which contain more stringent requirements than those actually registered with the Council for Medical Schemes, had been put there by mistake. Read more >>

Research in the news: Actions of nerve cells influenced by electrical fields

[Bill Hathaway] Nerve cells communicate with each other via direct connections called synapses. In a new study, Yale University researchers led by John Carlson showed that neurons in the fruit fly can communicate without direct connections. Read more >>

Positive age stereotypes improve recovery among the elderly

Older people who embrace positive stereotypes about aging are more likely than those who hold negative stereotypes to recover after suffering from disability, a new study by the Yale School of Public Health has found. The study appears in The Journal of the American Medical Association. Read more >>

Soft drinks raise prostate cancer risk says study

STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN: Men who drink one normal-sized soft drink per day are at greater risk of getting more aggressive forms of prostate cancer, according to a Swedish study released Monday (26 November). Read more >>

Noakes weighs in on carbs, obesity

The key to beating obesity and curbing the dramatic increase in Type 2 diabetes is to adopt a high-fat and protein diet and banish the popular high-carbohydrate diet, leading sports scientist Prof Tim Noakes says. Read more >>

Cipla Medpro's chief financial officer quits

[Tamar Kahn] South Africa's third biggest pharmaceutical company Cipla Medpro announced on Monday (26 November) that its chief financial officer Chris Aucamp had resigned with immediate effect‚ but would remain a director of one of its subsidiaries Medpro Pharmaceutical until at least the end of March. Read more >>

Partnership makes vaccines, family planning more accessible

Western Cape Minister of Health, Theuns Botha, on Wednesday, 21 November 2012, announced an agreement signed between Western Cape Government Health and the Clicks Group that will enable the pharmacy group to provide immunisations and family planning stock to state patients. This agreement is the forerunner to a service provider project that will enable pharmacy groups to provide similar services throughout the province. Read more >>

Stay fit to help with bed rest

Physical and mental decline are common side effects of hospital stays, particularly among older patients. That can be the case even if the person has to be hospitalised for just a day or two, and for a common procedure such as knee replacement surgery, say US specialists. Read more >>

OR Tambo 'could be conduit for diseases'

There are no screening services available for yellow fever on public holidays or weekends at one of South Africa's main ports of entry, OR Tambo International Airport, as the Gauteng department of health does not have the budget for overtime pay for its staff. Read more >>