Health & Science

• Monday, March 5th 2012 - 19:09 UTC

  Taiwan reluctantly accepts US beef imports with “safe level” of ractopamine

  

  The Taiwanese Executive was leaning toward conditionally lifting a ban on the import of US beef that has been grown with a leanness-enhancing drug banned in Taiwan, the government said Monday.

• Monday, March 5th 2012 - 19:03 UTC

  HMS Protector returns to spot in Antarctica where Shackleton saved his men

  

  Sailors from HMS Protector have returned to the exact spot where polar explorer Ernest Shackleton saved his men nearly 100 years ago. A team form the ice survey ship carried out scientific research at Point Wild on Elephant Island - a remote and forbidding shore where Shackleton expedition party spent months awaiting rescue in 1916.

• Monday, March 5th 2012 - 05:28 UTC

  Enjoy chocolate: it helps to lower blood pressure says scientific research

  

  Eating chocolate is not only a treat for the tongue -- it may also have some tangible benefits for heart health, such as lowering blood pressure slightly, according to a study involving more than a thousand people.

• Thursday, February 23rd 2012 - 04:40 UTC

  Two-day mourning in Argentina over the train accident; UK condolences

  

  Argentine President Cristina Fernández issued a two day mourning period over the train accident in one of Buenos Aires main stations which left 50 people dead and 676 injured.

• Wednesday, February 22nd 2012 - 16:39 UTC

  Argentine health authorities cleared MSC Armonia: “there is no risk”

  

  Argentine Health Minister Juan Manzur confirmed Wednesday morning that the situation on the MSC Armonía cruise ship, which lost a crew member last Friday to a possible flu virus, “was under control” and “normal” after it arrived to Buenos Aires port to be inspected by customs and health authorities.

• Wednesday, February 22nd 2012 - 01:15 UTC

  Double medical check for MSC Armonia passengers and crew in Montevideo

  

  Passengers and crew from the Italian cruise vessel MSC Armonia had to undergo a medical check-up when they docked in Montevideo Tuesday morning following the death of a member of the crew who is believed to have caught a type of flu virus.

• Tuesday, February 21st 2012 - 20:56 UTC

  UK celebrates Captain Scott’s Antarctic achievements and legacy to peace and science

  

  Foreign Office Minister Henry Bellingham celebrated the Captain Scott expedition's achievements and legacy of peace and science at the Foreign Office on 20 February.

• Tuesday, February 21st 2012 - 05:16 UTC

  Dutch scientists planning first lab-grown hamburger later this year

  

  Dutch scientists have used stem cells to create strips of muscle tissue with the aim of producing the first lab-grown hamburger later this year. The aim of the research is to develop a more efficient way of producing meat than rearing animals.

• Friday, February 17th 2012 - 01:25 UTC

  On eve of Carnival, Brazilian minister warns Rio do Janeiro of dengue epidemics

  

  Brazilian health minister Alexandre Padilha warned on Thursday that the city of Rio do Janeiro is exposed to potentially one of the worst epidemics of the mosquito transmitted dengue disease in recent history.

• Friday, February 17th 2012 - 01:18 UTC

  HMS Protector meets RRS Ernest Shackleton in Antarctica

  

  Newly commissioned Royal Navy Ice patrol vessel HMS Protector met up with her sister ship, the RRS Ernest Shackleton, in Antarctica recently. Her role as Ice Patrol Ship is to: conduct hydrographical surveys; assist the British Antarctic Survey; conduct base inspections to support the Antarctic Treaty and patrol for unlicensed fishing and visitors