LONDON, March 5 (Reuters) – Years of universal healthcare,
rising health spending, cancer screening, immunisation and
anti-smoking laws have failed to stop Britain falling behind in
reducing early death and disease, a study showed on Tuesday.

Researchers who compared Britain’s health performance since
1990 with 14 European Union countries plus Australia, Canada,
Norway and the United States said its pace of decline in
premature death was “persistently and significantly” behind the
average – a finding they described as “startling”.

LONDON, Mar 1 (Reuters) – Scientists from a British cancer
charity are teaming up with technology gurus from the likes of
Amazon, Facebook and Google to design and
develop a mobile game aimed at speeding the search for new
cancer drugs.

The project, led by the charity Cancer Research UK, should
mean that anyone with a smart phone and five minutes to spare
will be able to investigate vital scientific data at the same
time as playing a mobile game.

LONDON (Reuters) – The emergence of a deadly virus previously unseen in humans that has already killed half those known to be infected requires speedy scientific detective work to figure out its potential.

Experts in virology and infectious diseases say that while they already have unprecedented detail about the genetics and capabilities of the novel coronavirus, or NCoV, what worries them more is what they don’t know.

LONDON (Reuters) – The emergence of a deadly virus previously unseen in humans that has already killed half those known to be infected requires speedy scientific detective work to figure out its potential.

Experts in virology and infectious diseases say that while they already have unprecedented detail about the genetics and capabilities of the novel coronavirus, or NCoV, what worries them more is what they don’t know.

LONDON, Feb 27 (Reuters) – GlaxoSmithKline’s
Pandemrix swine flu vaccine has been linked to cases of the rare
sleep disorder narcolepsy in children in a scientific study in
England that confirms similar findings elsewhere in Europe.

The vaccine, more than 30 million doses of which were given
during the H1N1 flu pandemic in 2009-2010, contains a booster,
or adjuvant, and may have triggered an adverse immune reaction
in some children at higher genetic risk of narcolepsy,
scientists said in new research published on Wednesday.

LONDON (Reuters) – A British man infected with a new virus from the same family as SARS has died, health officials said on Tuesday, bringing the worldwide death toll from the previously unknown disease to six.

The virus, called novel coronavirus or NCoV, was unknown in humans until it emerged in the Middle East last year. There have been 12 confirmed cases worldwide – including in Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Britain – and half the patients have died.

LONDON (Reuters) – A new virus that emerged in the Middle East last year and has killed five people is well adapted to infecting humans but could potentially be treated with drugs that boost the immune system, scientists said on Tuesday.

The virus, called novel coronavirus or NCoV, is from the same family as the common cold and as SARS, or Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome. There have been 12 confirmed cases worldwide – including in Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Britain – and five patients have died.

LONDON, Feb 15 (Reuters) – A fourth person in Britain has
contracted a potentially fatal SARS-like virus which was unknown
in humans until a few months ago, but health officials said on
Friday the risk to the population remained very low.

Confirming the third British case this week of infection the
new virus – known as novel coronavirus, or NCoV – the Health
Protection Agency said the patient was one of a cluster of three
in the same family.

LONDON, Feb 15 (Reuters) – Banning smoking in enclosed
public places can lead to lower rates of preterm birth,
according to Belgian researchers who say the findings point to
health benefits of smoke-free laws even in very early life.

It is well known that smoking during pregnancy can stunt the
growth of unborn babies and shorten gestation, and that
second-hand smoke exposure can also effect births, but little
was known about the impact of smoking bans on preterm birth
rates.

LONDON, Feb 13 (Reuters) – A third patient in Britain has
contracted a new SARS-like virus, becoming the second confirmed
British case in a week and showing the deadly infection is being
spread from person to person, health officials said on
Wednesday.

The latest case, in a man from the same family as another
patient, brings the worldwide number of confirmed infections
with the new virus – known as novel coronavirus, or NCoV – to
11.