A new study shows gene flaws that raise the risk of breast cancer are surprisingly common in black women with the disease. This is the first comprehensive testing in this racial group. The study found that one-fifth of these women have BRCA mutations, a problem usually associated with women of Eastern European Jewish descent but [...]

The father of Amy Winehouse will launch a major new drug and alcohol education programme today. Mitch Winehouse will demand changes to the way children are taught about drugs and alcohol in school. Mitch Winehouse has warned that a generation of children are being put at risk by “woefully underfunded” drug and alcohol education. Mr [...]

People who keep their fitness level up as a child and adult, through activity three or four times a week, improve their cognitive functioning at 50, a research has claimed. People perform better in mental tests at the age of 50 if they have engaged in regular intense activity, such as playing sport, running, swimming [...]

In the wake of the horsemeat scandal, new research has revealed a link between eating too much processed meat and premature death. Some 3% of all premature deaths may be due to the consumption of too much processed meat, the study suggests. Processed meats include sausages, bacon, ham, salami and pepperoni. The study involved almost [...]

The British government has pledged up to £35m to help eliminate female genital mutilation in a generation. At the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) on Tuesday, UK international development minister Lynne Featherstone said this was the largest donor contribution to tackling the practice, which is prevalent in many countries. Featherstone said she [...]

Scientists have developed an anti-nicotine vaccine that could take the pleasure out of smoking a cigarette. The vaccine  successfully treated nicotine addiction in mice  according to a study published in Science Translational Medicine. With just a single dose, the vaccine protected mice against nicotine addiction for the rest of their lives, the researchers said.  The [...]

Going for a walk in the cold after a meal could help people lose weight as low temperatures prompt the body to burn calories, research suggests. Cool temperatures may activate “good” fat in the body that burns calories and ultimately leads to weight loss, according to a new study. The “good fat” is called brown [...]

Dentists are misleading patients into paying for treatment that is covered by the NHS, a major investigation has found. According to a report by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT),  around 500,000 patients a year are given inaccurate information by dentists about their entitlement to some procedures on the NHS. As a result they may [...]

More than half the British public suffers from a negative body image, an inquiry by MPs has been told. The problem is so bad that girls as young as five now worry about their size and appearance, with children in danger of picking up their parents’ body-related anxieties, their report said. The Reflections on Body [...]

New evidence has emerged that suggests chemicals routinely found in the environment could be damaging fertility in some men, the BBC reports. Scientists in Scotland and France found that fertility in a subset of men could be affected by chemicals such as those from cosmetics, detergents and pollutants. Some chemicals in the environment can interfere [...]