Foreign doctors and nurses would be forced to pass tough language tests before they can work in the NHS, under Government plans. By Kate Devlin, Medical Correspondent All healthcare staff would also have to show that they have the skills to do their jobs. The move would end the scandal of overseas doctors working in British hospitals without having to prove their grasp of English. Campaigners have called for the change in the wake of cases including the death of David Gray, a British pensioner unlawfully killed by German doctor Daniel Ubani, who gave him a fatal overdose of painkillers. During...

The statin drugs prescribed to millions of people to lower cholesterol may cause some unexpected side effects, which doctors should watch out for, researchers warn. But the study confirms that the drugs work well for preventing heart attacks and strokes. What do we know already? Statins are extremely common drugs. Doctors wrote more than 40 million NHS prescriptions for statins last year. They’re used to lower people’s cholesterol levels and cut the risk of a heart attack or stroke. While statins have proven benefits, we also know that they have side effects. Statins are seen as safe...

By Victoria Gill Science reporter, BBC News Scientists in the US have succeeded in developing the first synthetic living cell. The researchers constructed a bacterium’s “genetic software” and transplanted it into a host cell. The resulting microbe then looked and behaved like the species “dictated” by the synthetic DNA. The advance, published in Science, has been hailed as a scientific landmark, but critics say there are dangers posed by synthetic organisms. The researchers hope eventually to design bacterial cells that will produce medicines and fuels and even absorb...

by Philippa Roxby A whole range of medical procedures rely on lasers, so much so that we don’t even realise we’re being treated using Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation (LASER). A bit short-sighted? How about laser eye surgery to correct your vision? Got a birthmark you want removed? Then laser therapy will do the job. And in the future, doctors say laser-based treatment will revolutionise cancer care and save the NHS money. So what are lasers? They are concentrated beams of light travelling in a particular direction. What makes them different from a normal light...

Urinary tract infections are becoming increasingly hard to treat because of emerging resistance to current antibiotic drugs, experts warn. They say the problem is spawned by the overuse of antibiotics in the farming industry which enter the food chain. Scientists from the University of Hong Kong found evidence suggesting resistance genes are being passed from animals to humans in this way. Their findings are published in the Journal of Medical Microbiology. The researchers examined Escherichia coli bacteria, which are responsible for the vast bulk of human urinary tract infections. (UTIs). Read...

Drug company, anticipating approval of new drug, launches education campaign about low sex drive By Deborah Kotz Not interested in sex? Perhaps you have a condition called hypoactive sexual desire disorder, caused by a brain chemical imbalance. That’s the message conveyed in a new “educational campaign” launched last week by the Society of Women’s Health Research with actress Lisa Rinna as a celebrity spokesperson talking about “the brain’s potential role in desire.” On the campaign’s new website, you might conclude that if you’re not fantasizing...

At this point, no company wants to be caught with a BPA-filled product. The chemical, which is found in food and drink can linings, water bottles, computers, and other products containing plastic, can cause numerous health problems–it mimics estrogen, for example, and that can lead to infertility and even cancer. Now the National Workgroup for Safe Markets has come out with a report (PDF) claiming that canned foods, many of which are labeled as “healthy” or organic, contain an average of 77 parts per billion (ppb) of BPA. When the FDA last tested canned food in 1996, it found...

Study Shows Flibanserin Cuts Distress, Increases Satisfaction for Some Women With Low Sexual Desire By Daniel J. DeNoon May 18, 2010 — Flibanserin, an antidepressant-like drug, makes sex more satisfying for some premenopausal women distressed over their low sexual desire. The findings come from phase III clinical trials that drugmaker Boehringer Ingelheim hopes will convince the FDA to approve flibanserin for the treatment of hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD). While HSDD is a controversial diagnosis — some experts see it as the medicalization of what is for many women a relationship...

End of smallpox may have led to HIV rise The worldwide eradication of smallpox in the mid-20th century was a remarkable public health achievement, but it may have set the stage for the HIV pandemic of the latter half of the century, researchers reported Tuesday. Laboratory tests suggested that immunity to smallpox triggered by the smallpox vaccine can inhibit the replication of the AIDS virus, the researchers said in the journal BMC Immunology. Such vaccination could have kept HIV transmission partially under control in the early days of the outbreak, which is thought to have begun in the 1950s,...

Proponents say that raw milk is more nutritious than homogenized. But many health agencies warn that it can carry dangerous bacteria. The federal government and virtually all public health agencies oppose consumption of raw milk because it can carry dangerous bacteria such as E. coli 0157:H7, listeria and campylobacter. In March, 13 people in Michigan were sickened by campylobacter in an outbreak tied to raw milk sold at a northern Indiana farm. But raw milk drinkers argue that they should be allowed to decide whether to take that risk. Many who drink raw milk believe that the unprocessed, non-homogenized...