A test released Wednesday shows that the drug misoprostol is almost as effective as surgery for removing tissue that remains in the uterus after a failed pregnancy.

The drug, called Cytotec by manufacturers G.D. Searle and Pfizer Inc., has a success rate of around 85 percent, says Jun Zhang of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the chief author of the study

A new study, published in The Lancet, says that giving young children in developing countries a weekly dose of the mineral, zinc, can substantially reduce their risk of illness and death.

In a study, conducted from 2000 to 2003, pneumonia caused almost 20 percent, or 2 million of 10.6 million, deaths, among children younger than 5 years worldwide. Diarrhea causes a further 1.9 million deaths annually to those at-risk children

Doctors discover a new test that detects iron deficiency in infants earlier and more accurately than the commonly used hemoglobin screening test

Dr. Roger P. Levin, CEO of dental consulting firm Levin Group Inc., is named Chair of the Board of Visitors at the Dr. Samuel D. Harris National Museum of Dentistry by the National Museum of Dentistry. Levin is the third to hold the position following Dr. John Patterson.He says his immediate plans as Chair of the BOV include the development of a Baltimore-Washington foundation designed to enhance dental care andhygiene education for underprivileged school children. Levin holds 20-years of dental consulting experience and is the 2004 Ernst & YoungEntrepreneur of the Year Award winner in the category of consulting.Executive Director of the NMD Rosemary Fetter says, "Dr. Levin has beena significant supporter of the Museum since its inception. As Chair of theBoard of Visitors, Dr. Levin will surely continue his tremendous work withthe Museum that he has demonstrated as Membership Chair since 2002. We are very excited to have him on board."

Levin says, "I believe we all share in the obligation to give back to the community and to the field of dentistry. Now, I embark on a mission to improve the level of national awareness and much deserved respect to theMuseum for its wonderful efforts in dentistry

Swedish researchers recently discovered a virus named human bocavirus, which they believe causes respiratory infections in children.

Their report, published in this week's issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, underlines how little doctors know about the sources of most respiratory infections