Having a large waistline can almost double your risk of dying prematurely even if your body mass index is within the "normal" range, according to a new study of over 350,000 people across Europe, published Wednesday in the U.S. magazine New England Journal of Medicine.

A new study published in the journal of Minerva Cardioangiologica on Wednesday reveals Pycnogenol, pine bark extract from the French maritime pine tree, reduces jetlag in passengers by nearly 50 percent.

Increased rainfall, or something linked to it, may be connected to the development of autism, according to a research in Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicinea as quoted by media reports Tuesday.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 28 (Xinhua) -- Nicotine dependence in the United States has reached a 15-year high, with nearly 75 percent of people currently seeking tobacco-dependence treatment categorized as highly nicotine dependent, according to a new research presented at the annual meeting of American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP).

Wearing masks and using alcohol-based hand sanitizers may prevent the spread of flu symptoms by as much as 50 percent, a new study released Monday by University of Michigan suggests.

The discovery of excessive levels of melamine in eggs supplied by mainland companies has prompted Hong Kong authorities to expand health tests to meat products, a senior official said Sunday.

Experts warned that cell phone users may get a skin rash in reaction to the nickel in their cell phones, according to media reports on Tuesday.

A total of 54 million Brazilians or 34.5 percent of the country's urban population are living in houses lacking basic sanitation, official sources said Tuesday.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress Monday that consideration of more government stimulus is "appropriate" as the economic outlook is "exceptionally uncertain." "With the economy likely to be weak for several quarters, and with some risk of a protracted slowdown, consideration of a fiscal package by the Congress at this juncture seems appropriate," Bernanke said in his testimony before the Budget Committee in the House of Representatives. The central bank chief suggested that Congress design the second fiscal package so that it would be timely and well-targeted and would limit the longer-term affects on the government's budget deficit.

It was the seventh round of tests for the industrial chemical since the report of the tainted baby formula scandal that left at least three infants dead and sickened more than 50,000 others, according to the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine.