Iran plans to open 150 alcohol treatment centers, a health ministry official said on Monday, in an acknowledgement of the scale of abuse in a country where drinking is illegal.

The head of the ministry's drug abuse department, Dr Alireza Norouzi, told the ISNA news agency that the 150 day centers would provide special settings and educational courses to help people give up alcohol.

The world's first artificial leg capable of simulating the feelings of a real limb and fighting phantom pain will be unveiled by researchers in Vienna on Monday.

The innovation is the result of a two-fold process, developed by Professor Hubert Egger at the University of Linz in northern Austria.

South Korea recorded its sixth death and biggest single day jump in Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) infections Monday, with 23 new cases in the largest outbreak of the potentially deadly virus outside Saudi Arabia.

From just four cases two weeks ago, the total number of infections now stands at 87, including six people who have died.

Pregnant women regularly exposed to a range of detergents, solvents and pesticides have a substantially greater risk of giving birth to boys with genital deformities, according to a new French study.

The research, led by two professors at the Regional University Hospital Centre in the French city of Montpellier, found that women who regularly work with such chemicals, including cleaners and hairdressers, were at greatest risk of having sons born with hypospadias.

South Korea on Saturday confirmed nine more cases of the MERS virus, which has killed four people, but said it did not represent a spread of the outbreak as the infected were already in quarantine.

The additional cases brought the total number of people infected with the virus to 50. 

Women who undergo mammography screening reduce their risk of dying from breast cancer by 40 percent, an international study published in the United States showed.

Researchers reported that women aged 50 to 69 who received screening were 40 percent less likely to succumb to the disease compared to women who were not screened.

U.S. doctors hailed a complex operation as a world first after performing a skull and scalp transplant on a cancer patient who also received a new kidney and pancreas during the procedure.

James Boysen, a 55-year-old software developer, underwent 15 hours of surgery performed with the help of more than 50 medical professionals, the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston said Thursday.

Nestle said Friday it was withdrawing its Maggi instant noodles from sale in India after a scare over excess lead content that has seen the hugely popular snack burnt on the streets and temporarily banned in several states.

As it tried to contain the growing scandal, the world's top packaged food maker said although Maggi noodles were safe, it had decided to withdraw them because "unfounded concerns" had led to an "environment of confusion".

South Korea reported Friday a fourth death from Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), as an infected doctor fueled fears of a fresh surge in cases and prompted Seoul's mayor to declare "war" on the virus.

Five new cases overnight took the number of infected people to 41 in what has become the largest MERS outbreak outside Saudi Arabia, with close to 2,000 people in quarantine or under observation.

The use of traditional drugs such as heroin is falling, but new, often toxic "legal highs" are appearing at a record rate of two per week, according to a new EU report released Thursday.

A total of 101 new psychoactive substances were detected in the European Union last year, up from 81 in 2013.