Use of the heart-rate lowering drug ivabradine can reduce the incidence of cardiovascular disease and death in patients with coronary artery disease and a high heart rate.

The angiotensin-receptor blocker (ARB) telmisartan should be regarded as a potential treatment for vascular disease or high-risk diabetes, in the 20% of patients who are unable to tolerate the standard treatment of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors.

By manipulating the machinery used by our cells for quality control, researchers from the University of Pittsburgh have found a way to restore the function of cystic fibrosis (CF) airway cells. This could significantly reduce the sticky mucus that plugs the lungs of CF patients, which leads to antibiotic-resistant infections and untimely death.

The advantage of using two eyes to see the world around us has long been associated solely with our capacity to see in 3-D. Now, a new study from a scientist at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has uncovered a truly eye-opening advantage to binocular vision: our ability to see through things.

Australian women from lower income families are less likely to breastfeed - increasing the chance of their babies becoming ill and being hospitalised, according to a research paper in the latest issue of the Medical Journal of Australia.

The selection of students for entry to medical schools in Australia is a high-stakes contest. A recent study reported in the latest issue of the Medical Journal of Australia showed that more than half the applicants trying to gain a place at an Australian medical school had attended coaching, and some had repeated selection tests, in order to boost their chances of admission.

So-called reality TV programs, such as The biggest loser, which focus on extreme weight loss and drastic changes to a person's appearance, may be an important driving force behind a dramatic increase in cosmetic and weight reduction surgery, according to an editorial in the latest edition of the Medical Journal of Australia.

Starting in 2009, Springer will publish the International Journal of Behavioral Medicine (IJBM). The quarterly peer-reviewed journal is the official organ of the International Society of Behavioral Medicine (ISBM) and was previously published by Taylor & Francis.

NICE (National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence) has published guidance that recommends Baraclude(R) (entecavir) as an option for treatment of eligible patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB).

Researchers running cancer trials are often critical of the Research Ethics Committee (REC) process they have to go through to get their trials approved, complaining that it's too complex, burdensome and sometimes unreasonable. In the UK only 17% of research study applications are given immediate favourable opinion by RECs.