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MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, October 20th 2025 - 04:14 UTC

Health & Science

  • Wednesday, June 20th 2018 - 06:50 UTC

    Canadian parliament approves recreational marihuana

    Legal sales are likely to begin before the end of the boreal summer after the Senate voted 52-29 on Tuesday night to approve the bill

    Recreational marijuana may soon be legal in Canada, after both the House of Commons and the Senate approved the Cannabis Act. Legal sales are likely to begin before the end of the boreal summer after the Senate voted 52-29 on Tuesday night to approve the bill, CBC reported.

  • Tuesday, June 19th 2018 - 06:56 UTC

    WHO releases new International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11)

    “The ICD is a product that WHO is truly proud of,” says Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.

    The World Health Organization (WHO) is releasing this Monday its new International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11). The ICD is the foundation for identifying health trends and statistics worldwide, and contains around 55 000 unique codes for injuries, diseases and causes of death. It provides a common language that allows health professionals to share health information across the globe.

  • Monday, June 18th 2018 - 08:08 UTC

    World tributes to Professor Hawking at his Westminster Abbey memorial service

    Prof Hawking died in March, aged 76, after a long battle with motor neurone disease.

    Tributes have been paid to renowned physicist Prof Stephen Hawking in a Westminster Abbey memorial service. British actor Benedict Cumberbatch, who played Hawking in a BBC drama, and astronaut Tim Peake were among those giving readings at the ceremony.

  • Saturday, June 16th 2018 - 11:12 UTC

    World Health Organization update on suspected polio case in Venezuela

    Final laboratory analysis received on Friday has confirmed that the AFP symptoms are not associated with wild or vaccine-derived poliovirus.

    Following unconfirmed reports on 8 June of suspected polio re-emergence in Venezuela, final laboratory testing has confirmed the cause of the paralysis is not wild poliovirus or vaccine-derived poliovirus, according to a release from WHO.

  • Saturday, June 16th 2018 - 10:02 UTC

    Collapse of Nicaragua's health system condemned by World Medical Association

    WMA President Dr. Yoshitake Yokokura said that attacks on health workers, medical vehicles and hospitals were unacceptable.

    The collapse of the public health care system in Nicaragua and the breakdown of medical ethics and human rights in the country have been condemned by the World Medical Association. Referring to the rapidly deteriorating situation in the country, WMA President Dr. Yoshitake Yokokura said that attacks on health workers, medical vehicles and hospitals were unacceptable.

  • Wednesday, June 13th 2018 - 08:35 UTC

    A divided Argentine congress and society vote to decriminalize abortion

    President Mauricio Macri although he has declared himself “pro life”, last March he supported the initiative calling for “a mature and responsible debate”

    Argentina's Lower House will vote on Wednesday a bill to decriminalize elective abortion without judicial authorization in the first 14 weeks of pregnancy. In Argentina abortion is only allowed when the mother's life is at risk or as a result of rape.

  • Monday, June 11th 2018 - 08:16 UTC

    WHO certifies Paraguay malaria-free

    “Success stories like Paraguay’s show what is possible. If malaria can be eliminated in one country, it can be eliminated in all countries” said Dr Adhanom Ghebreyesus

    The World Health Organization (WHO) certified Paraguay as having eliminated malaria, the first country in the Americas to be granted this status since Cuba in 1973. “It gives me great pleasure today to certify that Paraguay is officially free of malaria,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director General, in a recorded statement.

  • Wednesday, June 6th 2018 - 07:32 UTC

    UN is asking you, companies and civil society groups to help to clean up our environment

    Each World Environment Day is organized around a theme that focuses attention on a particularly pressing environmental concern.

    Humans are both creatures and molders of their environment, which gives them physical sustenance and affords them the opportunity for intellectual, moral, social and spiritual growth.

  • Monday, June 4th 2018 - 08:42 UTC

    New blood test could detect different types of cancer even in early stages

    “This is a very promising study,” said Dr. Kazuaki Takabe, the Alfiero Foundation in breast oncology at the Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in Buffalo

    A new blood test shows promise for detecting many types of cancer, even in the early stages of the disease, according to a new study. In the study, researchers found that the test could detect 10 types of cancer and that it was 80 to 90% accurate for some cancer types. However, much more research is needed before doctors will be able to use the test on their patients, experts say.

  • Thursday, May 31st 2018 - 20:16 UTC

    World No Tobacco Day: Tobacco and Heart Disease

    “Most people know that using tobacco causes cancer and lung disease, but many people aren’t aware that tobacco also causes heart disease and stroke – the world’s leading killers,” said Dr Tedros Adhan

    Tobacco use has declined markedly since 2000, according to a new WHO report, but the reduction is insufficient to meet globally agreed targets aimed at protecting people from death and suffering from cardiovascular and other non-communicable diseases (NCDs).