In a People Daily's report, the South African Health Department announced that between 6.29 million and 6.57 million people in the country had been infected with HIV/AIDS by last year.

The figure, attributed to the department's HIV and Syphilis Antenatal Sero-prevalence Survey, is far higher than the estimate of 4.5 million given by the official state statistics agency, Statistics SA

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention is attempting to counteract confusion stemming from recent statistics that suggested being overweight may not be as lethal as once thought.

CDC Director Julie Gerberding said that the confusion was due to the fact that obesity was not listed in medical records as a cause of death

William J Brown - News Room Administrators Staff

W.J

Oregon Health and Science University scientists have discovered that high doses of vitamin C could counteract some of the harmful effects that smoking during pregnancy can have on unborn babies

Two independent British studies have come to the same conclusion, that taking supplements of vitamin D and calcium, alone or together, to prevent broken bones is inneffective and likely a waste of time and money. The news is discouraging to senior citizens who struggle to fend off the devastating side effects of osteoporosis and debilitating fractures. In the first study, whose results are published in The Lancet April 27, split 5,292 subjects aged 70+, who had suffered a fracture in the previous 10 years, into groups that were given daily doses of vitamin D3, calcium, a combination of both or placebos. The test subjects were followed over two to five years to see if people getting the supplements had fewer new bone fractures. But the study concluded that there was no real difference in rate of new fractures between the groups. The study did not consider those who take calcium in combination with bisphosphonates. The second trial results, which are published in the British Medical Journal, examined 3,314 UK women aged 70+ with one or more risk factors for potential hip fractures. The women were followed for 18 to 42 months to see if one group had higher incidence of news hip fractures. The researchers found no statistically significant difference between the two groups