The Saudi health ministry announced Saturday a new MERS death, raising to 56 the number of people killed by the coronavirus in the country with the most fatalities.

The victim was a 73-year-old Saudi man, who suffered from chronic illnesses, the ministry said on its website.

French biomedical firm Carmat said on Friday it had begun the first human trial of its prototype artificial heart, which aims at overcoming shortages of organs available for transplant.

The implant operation, which took place on Wednesday at the Georges Pompidou Hospital in Paris, "went satisfactorily," it said in a statement.

Spain's government on Friday approved a tightening of the abortion law that would end women's right to opt for the procedure freely up to 14 weeks of pregnancy, outraging pro-choice campaigners.

Ministers at a cabinet meeting adopted a draft bill for a law which would allow abortion only in cases of rape or a threat to the mother's health, Justice Minister Alberto Ruiz-Gallardon told a news conference.

People with a glucose-tolerance problem -- a driver of diabetes and cardiovascular disease -- can cut the risk of heart attack or stroke by simply walking an additional 2,000 steps per day, a study said on Friday.

The experiment gathered more than 9,300 adults in 40 countries with so-called impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) who had also been diagnosed with cardiovascular disease or were considered at risk from it.

Almost all of the raw chicken sold in the U.S. contains potentially harmful bacteria such as salmonella and E.coli, according to an analysis by Consumer Reports published Thursday.

The magazine tested 316 raw chicken breasts in 26 states and "found potentially harmful bacteria lurking in almost all of the chicken, including organic brands," it said.

A way of fighting cancer that turns the body's immune cells into targeted tumor killers was named the breakthrough of the year by the U.S. journal Science on Thursday.

Immunotherapy has only worked for a small number of patients, and only in certain cancers, including melanoma and leukemia, but experts believe its promise is huge.

A leader of the Ukrainian feminist group Femen bared herself near St. Peter's Square on Thursday shouting "Christmas is canceled!" in a protest against the Catholic Church's stance on abortion.

Inna Shevchenko, 23, went topless and ran towards the square but was stopped by some 20 police officers.

British drugmaker AstraZeneca PLC says it will pay $2.7 billion to buy out Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.'s stake in their partnership to develop and sell diabetes drugs.

The deal announced Thursday also calls for up to $1.4 billion in regulatory, launch and sales related payments,

Many older adults with high blood pressure can be treated less aggressively, which could mean taking fewer pills to get it under control, according to new treatment guidelines from a U.S. expert panel. But not all experts are on board with the advice — including the federal agency that appointed the group.

Panel members stressed that they are not changing the definition of high blood pressure: 140 over 90. For adults aged 60 and older, they are recommending a higher treatment threshold, prescribing medicine only when blood pressure levels reach 150 over 90 or higher.

A Shanghai health official has been arrested on suspicion of crime, local authorities said, with state media linking his downfall to the bribery scandal surrounding British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline.

Huang Fengping, who was suspended earlier this month as deputy director of the Shanghai Municipal Commission for Health and Family Planning, was arrested Wednesday for allegedly committing a crime, the Shanghai Municipal People's Prosecution Service said in a one-sentence statement.