Health & Science

• Friday, August 9th 2013 - 04:28 UTC

  Argentina has begun distributing free a state-produced version of Viagra

  

  Argentina has begun distributing a free state-produced version of the erection-boosting drug Viagra for the first time, in a move intended to curb its misuse, health authorities announced Thursday.

• Wednesday, August 7th 2013 - 17:13 UTC

  World’s largest dairy producer faces scare over contaminated products with botulism bacteria

  

  New Zealand's government has stepped up efforts to contain the fallout from a scare over contaminated products made by dairy giant Fonterra. Officials have been sent to Fonterra facilities in New Zealand and Australia to oversee the flow of information.

• Monday, August 5th 2013 - 20:00 UTC

  London witnesses serving and cooking of the world’s first lab-grown beef burger

  

  A corner of west London saw culinary and scientific history made on Monday as scientists cooked and served up the world's first lab-grown beef burger.

• Friday, August 2nd 2013 - 03:20 UTC

  UN narcotics board says Uruguay’s marijuana bill is contrary to international treaties

  

  A United Nations narcotics body on Thursday expressed alarm about a bill passed by Uruguay’s Lower House that would legalize marijuana.

• Thursday, August 1st 2013 - 03:56 UTC

  Uruguay passes bill legalizing marijuana split on party lines; Senate discussion next October

  

  Uruguay's lower house passed a marijuana legalization bill on Wednesday which now must be discussed by the Senate, most probably in October. The vote brings Uruguay one step closer to becoming the first country to legally regulate production, distribution and sale of the drug.

• Wednesday, July 31st 2013 - 18:13 UTC

  Marine antibiotic compound, anthracimycin could help fight new ‘super-bugs’

  

  A completely new and unusual antibiotic compound has been extracted from a marine micro-organism found in sediments off the coast of California. The discovery of genuinely novel antibiotics is rare, and experts say resistance to the drugs poses a grave threat to human health.

• Wednesday, July 31st 2013 - 17:59 UTC

  Pfizer agrees to pay 491m dollars to settle illegal marketing of Rapamune

  

  US drug-maker Pfizer has agreed to pay 491 million dollars to settle a probe into illegal marketing of a drug by Wyeth, a firm it had acquired in 2009. The case revolved around Rapamune, a drug prescribed to prevent rejection of transplanted kidneys.

• Wednesday, July 31st 2013 - 05:54 UTC

  FAO calls for withdrawal of highly hazardous pesticides in developing countries

  

  The tragic incident in Bihar, India, where 23 school children died after eating a school meal contaminated with monocrotophos, is an important reminder to speed up the withdrawal of highly hazardous pesticides from markets in developing countries, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said on Tuesday.

• Friday, July 26th 2013 - 06:25 UTC

  Panel of scientists blames UN for cholera deadly epidemic in Haiti

  

  A group of international scientists studying a deadly cholera epidemic in Haiti has concluded that peacekeepers from the United Nations were the most likely source of the disease. The epidemic, which began in late 2010, has so far claimed over 8,000 lives. The UN formally rejected compensation claims in February.

• Thursday, July 25th 2013 - 06:01 UTC

  Uruguay expects to launch its first broadcasting and infrared info satellite in 2014

  

  The first satellite of the Uruguayan AntelSat project will be launched at the beginning of 2014, according to the country's telecom authority Antel.