A new digital media service will foster the global collaboration of physicians and help them to share the latest advances in AIDS and other virus research, according to its Canadian promoters.

The new bilingual French and English service, "viroXchange," is funded by large pharmaceutical companies but will provide "independent" reporting on the latest medical breakthroughs for healthcare professionals, they said.

Doctors in Pakistan say they have successfully operated to save the life of a baby born with six legs due to a rare genetic condition, hospital officials said Thursday.

"A team of five experienced doctors have successfully separated the extra legs and limbs from the baby today. He is very much safe and secure," said Jamal Raza, the director of National Institute of the Child Health in Karachi.

Katya Nikitina could not sleep, think, or move during her first seven days at the rehab clinic.

A heroin addict in the Urals in western Russia, she moved from Chelyabinsk to the facility in Yekaterinburg, the area's main urban center, to get clean.

A new treatment helped rabbits born with cerebral palsy regain near-normal mobility, offering hope of a potential breakthrough in treating humans with the incurable disorder, researchers said Wednesday.

The method, part of the growing field of Nano medicine, worked by delivering an anti-inflammatory drug directly into the damaged parts of the brain via tiny tree-like molecules known as dendrimers.

New Zealand announced plans Thursday to force cigarette firms to sell their products in plain packaging, following world-first laws passed in Australia.

The government had agreed "in principal" to adopt plain packing laws on tobacco products, subject to public consultation to take place later this year, Associate Health Minister Tariana Turia said.

A new magnetic back-straightening rod holds promise for treating children born with curved spines without the need for six-monthly surgery, researchers in Hong Kong said Thursday.

At present, straightening rods fixed to the spine have to be lengthened on an operating table under general anesthesia every six months to keep pace with the child's growth.

Agricultural authorities in northwest China have culled about 95,000 chickens after an outbreak of the H5N1 bird flu virus, state press reported Wednesday.

The outbreak in Touying township of the Ningxia region was discovered on Friday last week after over 23,000 chickens began showing symptoms, Xinhua news agency said, citing the Ministry of Agriculture.

As part of its ‘Reaching out to Children in Hospitals’ Program, and on the occasion of the 10 years anniversary of the Children’s Cancer Center of Lebanon (CCCL), Coca-Cola Middle East announced the upgrade of the CCCL Children Library that was offered by Coca-Cola when the center first opened its door in March 2002. The upgrade includes a brand new art corner as well as an addition of books and toys aiming at providing children at the hospital with a space for creativity, fun and education.

“As an integral part of our mission to bring hope and a healthy future to our patients, we are keen on addressing the educational, psychological and entertainment needs of our children during their treatment at the center,” said Mrs. Hana Choueib, General Manager of CCCL. “To-date, we have treated over 800 children with cancer with a survival rate of 80%. These children spend most of their time at the center in the play area and the upgrade offered by Coca-Cola will help make their stay at the center a more pleasant and educational experience,” she added.

Japanese researchers have successfully grown hair on hairless mice by implanting follicles created from stem cells, they announced Wednesday, sparking new hopes of a cure for baldness.

Led by Professor Takashi Tsuji from Tokyo University of Science, the team bioengineered hair follicles and transplanted them into the skin of hairless mice.

A pair of British plastic surgeons said Tuesday the rupture rate of PIP breast implants behind a global health scare may be as high as one in three, significantly more than previously thought.

A study of 453 of their patients who had received PIP implants between seven and 12 years ago showed a rupture rate of between 15.9 percent and 33.8 percent.