Researchers have described qualitative killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptor differences, acquired after humans and chimpanzees separated 6 million years ago and mainly a consequence of innovation in the human line. These differences open up an exciting avenue for explaining the differential susceptibility of humans and chimpanzees to devastating infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS and malaria.

Mia Latham, who was diagnosed with scoliosis when she was 11, decided to take up a programme of yoga to try to straighten her spine without doctors’ help.

Trainees are being ‘thrown in the deep-end’ and left on their own to deal with complicated problems – resulting in them missing potentially fatal conditions.

Young women are putting their health at risk by using DIY teeth-whitening treatments involving baking soda, ash and hydrogen peroxide, dentists warn.

A large population-based study revealed that multiple antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) used by pregnant women to control seizures may cause poor school performance in their teenagers. Researchers confirmed that exposure to AEDs in utero may have a negative effect on neurodevelopment.

A review found the vitamin increased the risk of suffering a haemorrhagic stroke by 22 per cent compared to people not taking it.

Instead of slipping into hibernation this November, I went along to a fitness session that conditions you for skiing and snow boarding.

Julie Welsh only had time to hold and kiss her newborn son before she suddenly fell unconscious. She had suffered a fatal amniotic fluid embolism, an inquest heard.

Ice baths may be championed by tennis ace Andy Murray, but research suggests they could limit the growth of muscle fibres.

Gemma Lennard, 26, from Manchester, had been taking paracetamol to cope with extreme back pain and was six months into the pregnancy of her sixth child when trouble struck.

Heart disease could be cut by almost a fifth – saving thousands of lives – if food companies were banned from adding too much salt to their products, research has found.

Patients could soon benefit from drugs to overcome the disabling effects of strokes thanks to a new brain discovery.

Doctors have known for some time that children born after some fertility treatments are at increased risk of cerebral palsy. However, it was not known whether this risk was due to the treatment itself, the higher frequency of preterm or multiple births, or a mechanism associated with couples’ underlying infertility. Now, new research indicates that underlying infertility is not the main reason for the increased risk seen in IVF/ICSI children.

Sue Tinley has gone from a size 20 to a 14 in just four months thanks to a revolutionary new Weight Watchers diet — the ProPoints plan.

A scientist who suffers from a rare neurological condition has revealed she collapsed up to 100 times a day – every time she experienced strong emotions.

Babies born with the help of forceps or a suction cup are more likely to have emotional problems, research suggests.

There were 9,040 infections last year, the highest recorded since 1979 when there were 9,266 cases.

A report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies say the U.S. healthcare system is more effective at diagnosing potentially fatal diseases and treating them early.

Scientists are a step closer to unlocking the riddle of autism, a common but little understood spectrum of developmental disorders.

Researchers may have identified a promising novel diagnostic biomarker for ectopic pregnancy, according to a new study. In the western world, deaths from ectopic pregnancy are not common but in the developing world one in ten women who are admitted with an ectopic pregnancy die.

Drinking beet root juice increases blood flow to the brain, according to researchers – a finding that holds great promise for combating the progression of dementia.

There were 3,706 transplants in the 12 months to the end of March 2010, up 5 per cent on the previous year. However 552 patients died while waiting for an organ.

Dr Sohail Bhatti, a director of one of the largest health trusts in Britain, said the draconian measure was the only way to ensure higher uptake of the vaccine.

Daniel Harrison suffered a sever case of acid reflux when he was a baby and the painful memory has developed into a phobia of food passing his lips.

One in five workers has taken time off for stress but almost all were too afraid to admit why they needed sick leave, researchers have found.

The Meningitis Research Foundation is urging all iPhone users to download the app that lists the symptoms of the infection, which can be similar to flu or a hangover.

People living near sources of high manganese emissions, such as a steel factory, are at higher risk of developing Parkinson’s disease, according to the results of a new study.

The researchers analyzed data on roughly five million people, and compared Parkinson’s rates to industry emissions of copper, lead and manganese obtained from the Environmental Protection Agency.

According to Reuters:

“In counties with little or no release of the metals, 274 out of every 100,000 people had the disease, compared to 489 in counties with high manganese levels.  The risk remained increased even after accounting for differences in age, sex and race”.

Researchers at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia have created a successful program in which nurses helped mothers attain high rates of breast-feeding in very sick babies.

When babies are in critical condition, breast-feeding may not be considered a priority, or even feasible.  But breast milk helps to fend off infection and provides easily digestible, nutritious ingredients that can reduce the infant’s stay in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

Eurekalert reports:

“[The researchers] describe a series of steps called the Transition to Breast Pathway, in which NICU nurses systematically guide the mother in breast-feeding practices, which culminated in a majority of the infants in the study (58 out of 80) feeding at their mother’s breast before being discharged from the hospital.”

The increased belief in fish oil’s powers of protection against degenerative brain disease has spawned a multi-million-pound industry.

New research has indicated that the superfruit, which is full of powerful antioxidants and anti-cancer properties, could help suppress tumour development.