The U.N World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday warned about the emergence of new deadly infectious disease like AIDS or Ebola in the 21st century.

The WHO report attributed the cause of diseases to rapidly increasing world population, intensive farming practices and changes in human and sexual behaviour

Scientists have internationally teamed up to discover the first human and animal antibodies that are capable of neutralizing different strains of the virus causing severe acute respiratory syndrome, also known as SARS.

From 2002 to 2004, several SARS outbreaks occurred in humans. It was believed that the virus originated in animals hosts causing humans to be infected with SARS. Therefore, concerns of future human outbreaks from animal strain infections are feared

Most Canadians who survived SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) recovered well physically but one year later reported a decline in mental health, according to a study.

Catherine M. Tansey of the University Health Network in Toronto, and colleagues, evaluated 117 patients who got sick from SARS and published the finding in the June 25 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine. In Toronto in 2003, 44 people died from SARS, 387 people got sick and thousands spent weeks in quarantine

Researchers from Japan have achieved a breakthrough in the field of vaccines by developing a type of rice that can carry a vaccine for cholera. The new discovery is seen as a revolutionary way to ease delivery of vaccines in developing countries, where storage is difficult due to lack of refrigeration.

The new rice vaccine, which is tested only in mice, causes immune reactions both systemwide in the body and in mucosal tissues such as in the mouth, nose and genital tract. Standard vaccines delivered by needle do not cause immune responses in the mucosal areas

With all the talk of the problems caused when China recently exported pet food containing wheat gluten laden with melamine, a chemical used for plastics which sickened and killed pets. The next scare came from poisoned toothpaste, poisoned fish and tea leaves contaminated by lead from using lead gas exhaust spewing trucks to run over tea leaves to dry them, it's no surprise that rumors of poison Chinese bananas would have a ring of truth.

But it turns out that rumors of poisoned bananas were just that - rumors. The rumor was spread by text messaging on cell phones and caused the price of bananas from China's Hainan Island to drop faster than bananas turn ripe