Researchers of McGill University have found an HIV test using saliva to be effective in preventing pregnant Indian mothers from passing the virus to their newborns.

The OraQuick test, which was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2004, lets doctors know within 20 minutes if a laboring pregnant mom is HIV-infected. The early detection of infection allows doctors to immediately administer anti-retroviral drugs to HIV-exposed infants, a method proven effective in preventing infection of babies from the virus that causes AIDS.

The Michigan Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled 5-2 that local governments and state universities in Michigan are barred from offering health insurance to the partners of gay workers.

The ban would affect gay employees at the University of Michigan and other public-sector employers from 20 public universities, community colleges, school districts and local governments in Michigan that earlier covered at least 375 gay couples.

An electronic pillbox meant to aid the elderly people in taking their medicines on time is a useful tool in old age, new research reveals. The pill box not only beeps at the appointed drug-taking time but also announces the number of pills to take and how to take them.

Manufactured by Santa Barbara, Calif.-based company Lifetechniques, the interactive pillbox was given to a group of patients between the ages of 65 and 84. All the patients were following a prescription regimen of at least four medications.

The European Union's food safety watchdog, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), may review the chemical bisphenol A, which is used in the manufacture of plastic baby bottles, after Canada banned the substance.

"EFSA is aware of the studies on bisphenol published in the United States and Canada. The agency will examine whether it should review its opinion on this product, which dates from January 2007," spokeswoman Anne-Laure Gassin said.

Six to nine hours of sleep are the recommended length of time to a healthier body. The window hours were determined by a study conducted by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.

The study, released Wednesday, linked excessive or lack of sleep to obesity. According to the academy's door-to-door survey of 87,000 American adults between 2004 to 2006, 33 percent of those who slept less than six hours had excess weight, while 26 percent of those whose shuteyes went beyond nine hours similarly were obese.