Health

• States Are Battling Against Wal-Mart Over Health Care
Wal-Mart is under attack for what critics see as a miserly approach to employee health care.
• Doctors Use Nanotechnology to Improve Health Care
Nanotechnology's bag of tricks for inventing new molecules and manipulating those available naturally could be dazzling in its potential to improve health care.
• In American Health Care, Drug Shortages Are Chronic
Some economists say a shortage of certain drugs in the United States stems from a central feature of the nation's public health system: no one is in charge.
• Is Kaiser the Future of American Health Care?
Many experts and politicians believe Kaiser, an H.M.O., is doing some of the things needed to improve health care.

• Embryos to be screened for cancer
Scientists are granted permission to screen test tube embryos for an inherited form of bowel cancer.
• Natural protein can starve cancer
A protein present in normal body tissue could hold the key to preventing tumour growth, researchers say.
• 'Stethoscope' hears kidney stones
Scientists develop a "smart stethoscope" that can hear when a kidney stone has been successfully shattered.
• Asbestos claims 'could hit £20bn'
UK claims for asbestos-related diseases could hit £20bn - but only half of the cost will be covered by insurance, a study says.
• Complex cause for brittle bones
A mix of bad genes and poor nutrition may be responsible for cases of brittle bone disease, research suggests
• Row over nursing shortage
Claims there may be a nursing shortage after a report pointed to rising numbers leaving for the US are denied by the government.
• Bowel cancer trials 'offer hope'
A breakthrough in treatment could cure as many as 40% of patients with bowel cancer, say experts.
• S Africans 'as fat as Americans'
Obesity levels in South Africa are on a par with the US, say doctors discussing the global epidemic.
• Cosmetic surgery warning
New guidelines are warning people of the dangers of not choosing their plastic surgeons carefully enough.
• Prozac use 'risky for children'
Using the anti-depressant Prozac at an early age may lead to emotional problems later in life, US scientists say.