An estimated 233 million women in their fertile years will lack access to modern contraception by 2015, up from 221 million in 2010, according to a study published on Tuesday.

Excluding China, developing countries will account for more than 80 percent of the unmet need, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, experts reported in The Lancet.

A New York judge blocked mayor Michael Bloomberg's planned ban on giant sodas Monday, dealing a setback to his public health agenda just hours before curbs on selling such drinks were due to begin.

Judge Milton Tingling ruled that measures to restrict soda servings to a maximum of 16 ounces (470 milliliters) in restaurants and other venues, were "arbitrary and capricious," and he was barring the plan "permanently."

It wasn't too long ago that America had a love affair with soda. Now, an old flame has the country's heart.

As New York City grapples with the legality of a ban on the sale of large cups of soda and other sugary drinks at some businesses, one thing is clear: soda's run as the nation's beverage of choice has fizzled.

More than 50 people have died in Libya since Saturday after drinking cheap homemade alcohol and hundreds were poisoned, the health ministry said on Monday, as the authorities in the Muslim country vowed a crackdown on booze trafficking.

The ministry said 38 people died in Tripoli hospitals while 13 others perished on their way to neighboring Tunisia, where their families were hoping they could be treated.

Stress does bad things to the heart. New studies have found higher rates of cardiac problems in veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder, New Orleans residents six years after Hurricane Katrina and Greeks struggling through that country's financial turmoil.

Disasters and prolonged stress can raise "fight or flight" hormones that affect blood pressure, blood sugar and other things in ways that make heart trouble more likely, doctors say. They also provoke anger and helplessness and spur heart-harming behaviors like eating or drinking too much.

Scans of mummies from as long ago as 2,000 BC have revealed that ancient people also had clogged arteries, a condition blamed on modern vices like smoking, overeating and inactivity, a study said Monday.

The finding, published in the Lancet medical journal, casts doubt on our understanding of the condition known as atherosclerosis that causes heart attacks and strokes.

A single dose of an experimental anti-inflammatory treatment reduces heart muscle damage during an angioplasty operation to open blocked arteries, a study found Sunday.

The antibody inclacumab, developed by Swiss lab Hoffmann-La Roche, significantly reduced levels of the standard molecular markers troponin I and CK-MB in patients, compared to those who took a placebo in a clinical trial.

More than 1,000 dead pigs have been found floating in Shanghai's main waterway, the Chinese city's government said Monday, as residents expressed fears over possible drinking water contamination.

Workers in the southwestern district of Songjiang fished more than 1,200 dead swine out of the Huangpu river, which goes on to cut through the commercial hub and create its waterfront Bund district.

An implant device designed by U.S. firm Boston Scientific to prevent strokes in high risk people helps avert blood clotting, a new study said.

The umbrella-shaped device called "Watchman" can also serve as an alternative to treatment with anticoagulants of patients suffering from arterial fibrillation, a study by the manufacturer said.

A combination drug containing niacin failed to lower the risk of heart attacks or strokes and even proved harmful for some with vascular disease, a study released Saturday reported.

Niacin, also known as vitamin B3, has for years been widely prescribed to lower "bad" LDL cholesterol and raise levels of "good" HDL cholesterol.