Keyhole heart surgery draws criticism
Open-heart surgery has become all but routine in recent years, although still physically traumatic. A few years ago, medical entrepreneurs decided to remove a lot of the trauma, too. "Minimally
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Doctors study unknown disease that killed Congo Gold miners
More than 60 people in the northeastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo have died of an unknown disease that has killed most of its victims, nearly all of them gold miners, within six days.
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New method gauges risk of prostate cancer relapse
Researchers say they have developed a simple method for estimating the risk that prostate cancer will recur and turn deadly in men who have already had their cancerous prostates removed. The new
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French power at Y2K risk
Safety at nuclear power stations in France could be jeopardized by the millennium computer bug, the French Institute of Nuclear Safety said. "Malfunctions of certain computer and automated systems at
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Punjab farmers to impart tech to Burkina Faso
Six farmers from Punjab will soon leave for Burkina Faso for taking up agriculture and passing on technology to the farmers of that
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China launches two satellites
China successfully launched two civilian satellites on Monday morning on a Long March 4B rocket, its first satellite launch this year, Xinhua new agency
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Gene therapy successful in cancer trial
A new gene therapy treatment has been used successfully to reduce prostate cancer in men, scientists reported. The news represents an important advance for both treatment of the deadly disease and
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Farmers pitting pest against pest
Marauding insects have usually been dealt with by using pesticides in the 20th century, but another method of control is gaining widespread acceptance--using natural enemies of the unwanted insects
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EU applicants face problems over "green" laws
All six countries due to be in the nextwave of European Union members early next century face serious problems bringing environmental lawsinto line with EU norms in time, the bloc's top environment
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Tracing error may damage N Ireland beef hopes
Northern Ireland's hopes of entering the European beef market were dealt a potentially severe blow when the region's agriculture department confirmed that a computer system had failed to trace 19
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Green sun screens
Scientists have shown that plants can be genetically modified to tolerate high-temperature streets. In a recent issue of Plant Journal, N Murata and colleagues at the National Institute of Basic
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Feathers still fly over open-cast mine
The bird watchers are back in full force at Donana, the wilderness in the south-western corner of Spain which contains Europe biggest and richest wetland reserve. A year ago, this embelmatic nature
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Why lonesome George needs a mate
The Galapagos Islands are almost out of this world. They are so remote and their quirky wildlife is so unusual that arriving there reminds one of an alien planet. In the effort to protect the fragile
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Are psychiatric drugs safe for children
With millions of youngsters now taking psychiatric drugs that were designed for adults, mental health researchers have stepped up their investigation into whether these medications are safe and
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U.S. court strikes down encryption restrictions
A three judge panel of the U.S. appeals court in San Francisco ruled that the government's restrictions on export of computer-encryption software violate free-speech protections, a blow to efforts by
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Africans off target in war on poverty
International goals to cut African poverty in half by 2015 are unlikely to be achieved, the UN's Economic Commission For Africa (ECA) has warned. According to the organisation's 1999 economic report,
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N Korean mortality rate rise
North Korea has released for the first time figures indicating that possibly hundreds of thousands of people have died to starvation in the last few years. Jon In Chen, acting director of external
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Government to back European space projects
The government will pledge that the UK will be an enthusiastic participant in European space programmes, abandoning the frequent reluctance of the previous Conservative administration to support
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Nicotine patches come to Japan
Smokers wanting to kick the habit will be able to get help in the form of nicotine patches, which are to be made available on prescription for the first time in Japan on Wednesday. Nicotine patches
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Work suspended on Jabiluka mine
The traditional owners of the Jabiluka uranium mine site last night won a reprieve in their battle to halt the project when the company Energy Resources Australia