An Australian study published today (Friday 30 April) has shed further light on the correlation between vitamin D and MS. The study, published in the British Medical Journal, shows that people born after the vitamin D-scarce winter months are roughly 30% more likely to go on to develop MS later in life compared with those born after the summer months…

In an NIH-funded study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, research found that daily vitamin E improved the livers of patients who have a type of liver disease known as nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). The study results are welcome findings because there are currently no approved treatments for the disease, says a Saint Louis University researcher on the project…

Eighty percent of health problems and five million deaths per year in developing countries are linked to inadequate water and sanitation according to the World Water Development Report 2009. This, coupled with the lack of medical attention for rural villagers, highlights a dire need for reliable access to clean water and healthcare, problems that Dr. BP Agrawal aims to solve…

Teaching babies to swim turns out to be more than just fun. Baby swimmers have better balance and are also better at grasping at things than non-swimmers. This difference persists even when children are five years old, when babies who have been taught to swim still outperform their peers, research from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) shows…

Australian researchers describe a mathematical model in the International Journal of Operational Research that can find the ten optimal sites at which tsunami detection buoys and sea-level monitors should be installed…

A new review published in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology states that the available evidence does not show that acupuncture helps diminish pain during labour. The use of acupuncture to manage pain in labour started in the 1970s but the evidence of its benefits remains unconvincing…

AP Examines Iran’s Efforts To Curb Spread Of HIV/AIDS Among Drug Users The Associated Press reports that health experts participating at this week’s International Harm Reduction Association conference in Liverpool are looking to Iran’s methadone clinics and needle exchange programs as a possible model for other countries looking to stop HIV/AIDS transmission…

A post-mortem study of the hearts of 21 young people in Mexico City has found that the heart begins to show the adverse effects of air pollution at a young age and that tiny bits of inactivated bacteria that hitch a ride on pollutants may make the problem worse…

Finance and Water Sector Ministers representing 18 countries met Friday with representatives of 13 donors, seven UN agencies and civil society for the First Annual High Level Meeting (HLM) of Sanitation and Water for All…

Many regions of the country are experiencing an unusually warm and wet spring - a weather pattern that is likely to foster an earlier and more severe mosquito season, the National Pest Management Association (NPMA) warns. The NPMA is asking homeowners to take action now to eliminate potential breeding sites for mosquitoes on or around their properties…