Long-term exposure to particulate air pollution boosts the risk of lung cancer, even at concentrations below the legal maximum, said a European study published on Wednesday.

A separate report said short-term surge in these particles or other gas pollutants in the air also increases the risk of heart failure.

A simplified lab can slash the cost of in-vitro fertilization treatment to around 200 euros ($256), offering hope to millions of infertile couples in the developing world, a conference heard on Monday.

The cost would be just 10 to 15 percent of western-style IVF programs, according to the Belgian team behind the project.

British researchers said Monday they have devised a test that can detect bladder cancer from certain odors in the urine.

The technique was inspired by reports about how dogs may be able to sniff out certain cancers, said researchers from the University of Liverpool and University of the West of England.

Brazil launched a program Monday to lure thousands of foreign doctors to fill vacancies in its public health system, a move criticized by many domestic health care professionals.

Improving public health services was one of the key demands made by hundreds of thousands of Brazilians who staged three weeks of nationwide street protests last month.

A lizard dipped in wine may not seem like an obvious asthma remedy, but as Cambodian traditional healers strive to turn their ancient wisdom into a professional industry such treatments are finding their way into the classroom.

For generations, the secrets of "Kru Khmer" traditional remedies have been passed down by word of mouth -- often from father to son -- with each expert tweaking the methods along the way.

A Saudi man and a child have died from the MERS virus, bringing the number of deaths from the respiratory infection in the kingdom to 38, the health ministry said on Sunday.

The 53-year-old man died from the SARS-like illness in Eastern Province, where the illness first broke out last year, the ministry's website reported.

Botched circumcisions killed 30 young men and landed almost 300 more in hospital during traditional initiation rites in a South African province, the health department said Sunday.

The 30 deaths in rural Eastern Cape province occurred during the annual season when young males undergo a rite of passage into manhood.

Scientists said Monday they had used a new-generation gene sequencing technique to select a viable embryo for in-vitro fertilization (IVF) that yielded a healthy baby boy.

IVF, the process whereby a human egg is fertilized with sperm in the laboratory, is a hit-and-miss affair, with only about 30 percent of fertilized embryos resulting in pregnancy after implantation.

The case of a pregnant 11-year old girl who was raped in Chile by her mother's partner has set off a national debate about abortion in one of the most socially-conservative countries in Latin America.

Chileans were outraged on Friday after state TV reported that the girl is 14 weeks pregnant and was raped repeatedly over two years. Police in the remote southern city of Puerto Montt arrested her mother's partner, who confessed to abusing the fifth grader. The case was brought to their attention by the pregnant child's maternal grandmother.

Residents and water plants along a river in southern China that is used as a drinking source have been warned not to use the river's water after authorities detected excessive amounts of two dangerous chemicals.

Tests by authorities detected the chemicals thallium and cadmium in a section of the Hejiang River in Guangdong province after dead fish turned up in the water, the official Xinhua News Agency said Saturday.