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Post-Sex Gel Shows Signs of Promise against HIV

A first-of-its-kind vaginal gel that is designed to be applied after sex has shown promise in preventing the virus that causes AIDS in research monkeys, U.S. scientists said Wednesday.

While testing is still at a very early stage, researchers hope the gel could be a more practical and effective option than current anti-retroviral gels on the market which must be applied before sex.

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Haiti Cholera Victims File New Lawsuit against U.N.

Victims of Haiti's deadly post-earthquake cholera epidemic filed a new lawsuit Tuesday against the United Nations in U.S. federal court, demanding compensation over the organization's alleged responsibility for the outbreak.

The class-action suit -- representing some 1,500 victims -- is the "the largest lawsuit against the U.N. regarding the outbreak to date," plaintiffs' representatives said in a statement.

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FDA Approves Electric Headband to Prevent Migraine

The Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday it approved a nerve-stimulating headband as the first medical device to prevent migraine headaches.

Agency officials said the device provides a new option for patients who cannot tolerate migraine medications.

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Study: Africa to Spew Half World's Particle Pollution by 2030

With its exploding urban population burning ever more coal and wood, Africa could contribute as much as 55 percent of the world's particle pollutants by 2030, a study said Tuesday.

In 2005, the continent's global share of these atmospheric pollutants ranged from a five percent for sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide to 20 percent for organic carbon, according to the findings published in the journal Environmental Research Letters.

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Nicotine Patches no Help for Pregnant Women who Smoke

Nicotine patches fail to help pregnant women to stop smoking, according to a study published by the British Medical Journal (BMJ) Tuesday.

Researchers in France asked more than 400 women who smoked at least five cigarettes a day to try either a nicotine patch or a dummy patch called a placebo.

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Spinach Extract Could Help Prevent Obesity, Study Shows

A natural compound hidden away in spinach has been shown to reduce food cravings between meals and could help prevent obesity, a Swedish scientist said on Monday.

Charlotte Erlanson-Albertsson, a professor of appetite regulation at Lund University, found the compound, known as thylakoid, while looking for ways to slow digestion and alleviate hunger pangs.

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U.S: Heroin Epidemic Creating 'Urgent' Overdose Crisis

A sharp rise in US deaths from heroin and prescription abuse has created an "urgent public health crisis," Attorney General Eric Holder declared Monday, promising tougher enforcement and improved drug treatment.

In a statement on the Department of Justice website, Holder said deaths from overdosing on heroin had risen by 45 percent between 2006 and 2010.

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Stem Cell Scientist Calls for Retraction of Study

A co-author of a Japanese study that promised a revolutionary way to create stem cells has called for the headline-grabbing research to be retracted over claims its data was faulty.

The findings, published by Japanese researcher Haruko Obokata and U.S.-based scientists in the January edition of British journal Nature, outlined a simple and low-tech approach in the quest to grow transplant tissue in the lab.

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H7N9 Bird Flu Comes Home to Roost in China

The handful of poultry dealers lingering at Chengbei Market have had little to do since Chinese authorities shut down their livelihoods after H7N9 bird flu began stalking the country again, killing scores of people this year.

They spend their days counting the losses to their business, gambling at cards and cleaning the cages which once held thousands of live birds, hoping the government will allow the trade to resume.

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Philippines Seeks to End Rabies Deaths in Two Years

The Philippines plans to vaccinate seven million dogs within two years to end its status as one of the world's most rabies-prone nations, the health department said Monday.

By making at least 70 percent of the country's 10 million dogs resistant to the rabies virus, the department hopes to remove the disease as a cause of human death by 2016, four years earlier than originally targeted, health officials said.

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