The European Union has extended the minimum period of leave for parents to four months each – a benefit separate from maternity leave. At least one month of the four cannot be transferred to the other parent. The idea is to enable more equal take-up of leave by both parents

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Around 250 people who may have been exposed to tuberculosis (TB) are being screened in Rhondda Cynon Taf. It is the first time a whole community has been tested for the disease. They were asked to come forward after a number of new cases of TB, which experts believe are linked to an outbreak in 1996, were identified

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Around 250 people who may have been exposed to tuberculosis (TB) are being screened in Rhondda Cynon Taf.

Continue reading " Community’s TB screening begins "

Washington DC will become the first city in the US to make female condoms available for free, the Washington Post has reported. The contraceptives will be handed out in beauty salons, convenience stores and high schools in areas with high rates of HIV/Aids infection. Male condoms have long been handed out but infection rates remain high among Washington’s black residents.

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The families of victims of the brain disease vCJD have lost a High Court challenge over what they claimed was a “flawed” compensation scheme. Annie McVey, from Devon, led the action after her teenage daughter Claire died from the human form of BSE – variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease – in 2000. She claimed the government compensation scheme was highly complicated and a decision not to change it was unlawful.

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Researchers have discovered voice recognition computers find men harder to understand than women. Edinburgh University scientists found computers failed to understand men’s speech because they make “umm” and “err” sounds more frequently. Researchers recorded phone calls and studied how much of conversations a recognition system could understand.

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Researchers have discovered voice recognition computers find men harder to understand than women. Edinburgh University scientists found computers failed to understand men’s speech because they make “umm” and “err” sounds more frequently. Researchers recorded phone calls and studied how much of conversations a recognition system could understand

Continue reading " Male voices ‘harder to recognise’ "

A drug developed specifically for treating rare blood cancers will not be made available through the NHS. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has decided not to recommend azacitidine or Vidaza for treating myelodysplastic syndromes because it is too costly

Continue reading " Bone drug too costly, says NICE "

A drug developed specifically for treating rare blood cancers will not be made available through the NHS. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has decided not to recommend azacitidine or Vidaza for treating myelodysplastic syndromes because it is too costly.

Continue reading " Bone drug too costly, says NICE "

A hospital has suspended children’s heart surgery after a number of deaths during operations. The John Radcliffe hospital in Oxford made the announcement, saying fatalities had occurred during procedures

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