A new non-invasive prenatal DNA diagnosis to assess the baby's Rhesus-D negative (RhD) status can now save the RhD negative women from painful injections. Around 100,000 pregnant women a year are found to be RhD negative, posing risk for the baby.

Currently, all women who test RhD negative at routine antenatal checks are given one or two antiserum injections during the pregnancy. But scientists say an easy, rapid test to assess the baby's RhD status means more than a third of RhD negative women can skip the injections. Trial results of the test are reported in the British Medical Journal

A swab, a consent form, an envelope and a waiting period of three to five business days is all needed to answer paternity issues with the test kit that went on sale Tuesday at Columbia-area stores.

Meijer and Rite Aid stores sell the first over-the-counter DNA paternity test kit that costs $29.99. The kit includes cotton swabs for taking cells from inside the mouth of the baby, mother and a man. Then they have to be sealed in plastic bags, sent with a consent form and $119 laboratory fee. These are sent to Identigene for analysis. The result, which has 99.99% accuracy, can be accessed online after three to five working days

A new study confirms earlier findings that human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA-based test are more accurate than Pap smears in finding precancerous tumors.

HPV test was known to detect more precancerous lesions than Pap smears (cytology) but it was not clear whether HPV test would lead to patient's treatment whose immune system would resist infections

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is facing growing calls for a free vote on the controversial legislation for embryo research.

The cabinet is split over the bill, with three Catholic ministers - Ruth Kelly, Des Browne and Paul Murphy - and a few junior ministers all struggling to accept parts of it, to the private exasperation of some colleagues

The Food and Drug Administration approved a new chemotherapy drug Thursday for use in patients with cancer of the blood, chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

Bendamustine hydrochloride, brand name Treanda, attacks and damages cancer cell DNA that leads to death of these cells and also attacks cancer cells when they try to divide