Using maths to fight AIDS

Scientists using a powerful mathematical tool previously applied to the stock market have identified an Achilles heel in HIV that could be a prime target for AIDS vaccines or drugs. Read more >>

Brothers for Life, SABC Education and SABC Radio launch Men's Health Talk Show

Brothers for Life, the National Men's Campaign, in partnership with SABC Education and SABC Radio have started a new series of radio talk shows to focus attention on men's health and to identify brothers within communities that are making a positive contribution to their communities. Read more >>

Kingsley Holgate off to Sudan

This morning, Nando's founder Robert Brozin, helped launch "A Journey to Juba", the most recent expedition by adventurer, Kingsley Holgate, to distribute mosquito nets in Africa. Read more >>

Scientists accurately predict age using just a saliva sample

[Elaine Schmidt] Patented test could offer new tool for crime investigations, personalised medicine. Read more >>

New study suggests ALS could be caused by a retrovirus

A retrovirus that inserted itself into the human genome thousands of years ago may be responsible for some cases of the neurodegenerative disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. The finding, made by Johns Hopkins scientists, may eventually give researchers a new way to attack this universally fatal condition. Read more >>

Breaking the chain: 'Molecular cap' blocks processes that lead to Alzheimer's, HIV

[Kim DeRose] A new advance by UCLA biochemists has brought scientists one step closer to developing treatments that could delay the onset of Alzheimer's disease and prevent the sexual transmission of HIV. Read more >>

Go on! Get down and dirty - it's good for you!

New research on community gardening reveals the roots of emotional and physical health. Read more >>

Yale researchers uncover source of mystery pain

An estimated 20 million people in the United States suffer from peripheral neuropathy, marked by the degeneration of nerves and in some cases severe pain. There is no good treatment for the disorder and doctors can find no apparent cause in one of every three cases. Read more >>

US health experts challenge industry's front-of-package nutrition labelling

Citing evidence that shows notable deficiencies in the industry's latest food labelling system called Nutrition Keys, Yale University's Kelly Brownell, Ph.D., and Emory University's Jeffrey Koplan, M.D., M.P.H., challenge the industry's action in an article published in the 23 June 2011 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. Read more >>

New baby gravies, soups

Many mothers feed their babies soft pap and mashed vegetables and often add soup mixes or off-the shelf gravies to enhance their flavour. However, these mixes are typically designed for adults and contain more salt and spice than a baby should have and little in the way of nutritional value. Read more >>

Dedicated doctors bring a smile where there was none

Nervous thoughts were running through Thabile's head before her daughter's operation. "I kept thinking 'what if'. But she's strong, she didn't even cry." Read more >>

Slow growth of childhood brain tumours explained

New findings could explain why some childhood brain tumours grow slowly or spontaneously regress. Read more >>

Children's Hospital opens surgical skills training centre

The new Surgical Skills Training Centre at the Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital, which officially opened today, 22 June 2011, is the first of its kind in sub-Saharan Africa to offer training in paediatric Endoscopic Surgery. Read more >>

Why breast really IS best

Here are just some of the many good reasons why you should breastfeed your baby: Breast milk is the most complete form of nutrition for infants. Breast milk has just the right amount of fat, sugar, water, and protein that is needed for a baby's growth and development. Most babies find it easier to digest breast milk than they do formula. Read more >>

Completely new approach to cancer vaccines proves successful in early studies

Cancer Research UK scientists at the University of Leeds, UK, have used a library of DNA to create a vaccine that could be used to treat cancer, according to a study published in Nature Medicine. Read more >>

SA health department prepares to tackle swine flu outbreak

South Africa is at present facing the outbreak of H1N1flu virus, popularly known as swine flu, but the Department of Health has claimed that the situation was under control. As per the department, the infection arrives in this season every year. Read more >>

Performance enhancing substances: The health risks

Recent reports have firmly placed doping and performance-enhancing substance (PES) abuse amongst adolescent athletes on the South African agenda. In fact, the SA Institute for Drug Free Sport recently said that positive doping stats for April 2010 to March 2011 have doubled. Read more >>

Midwife burnout poses threat to reducing maternal mortality

Midwives are overworked and underpaid, but a study focusing on midwifery will be a vital tool in helping to tackle the problems. Read more >>

Economic slowdown impacts on consumer health-care spending

WASHINGTON, US: Rising health care costs, coupled with the current state of the economy, have prompted many consumers across the globe to delay care, alter household spending and worry about their ability to pay for future health care costs according to the 4th annual Deloitte Centre for Health Solutions 2011 Survey of Health Care Consumers. Read more >>