Health

BEIJING, May 16 (Xinhua): Instead of sitting in classrooms, students in China are encouraged to take part in outdoor sports to prevent myopia and maintain health.

Students from Beijing Primary School were acclaimed Wednesday as an example of China's efforts to promote health education by showcasing their exercise routine, such as soccer and basketball, at the opening ceremony of a thematic health education activity, China Education Daily reported.

HOHHOT, May 18 (Xinhua): The Helan Mountains in Alxa League, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is starting to heal from decades of overexploitation, under an ecological restoration campaign launched by the local government three years ago.

According to Zhang Baojun, deputy director of the management bureau of Helan Mountains national nature reserve, facilities of 15 mining enterprises have been demolished, 17 coal mines permanently closed, over 3 million cubic meters of mining pits refilled, and the vegetation in a 667-hectare mining area restored.

SYDNEY, May 17 (Xinhua): Asthma sufferers can breathe a little easier with a potential new treatment revealed on Friday, targeting the underlying cause of the disease rather than the symptoms.

A study by Australia's Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research has shown in preclinical trials that by inhibiting the enzyme Ezh2 they can "switch off" and reverse the uncontrolled inflammation associated with asthma.

16 May 2019; AFP: UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres raised concerns Thursday that a concrete dome built last century to contain waste from atomic bomb tests is leaking radioactive material into the Pacific.

Speaking to students in Fiji, Guterres described the structure on Enewetak atoll in the Marshall Islands as "a kind of coffin" and said it was a legacy of Cold War-era nuclear tests in the Pacific

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge is siding with public health groups suing the Food and Drug Administration to begin reviewing thousands of e-cigarettes on the U.S. market.

The ruling handed down Wednesday in district court states that the agency shirked its legal duty when it postponed reviewing all U.S. vaping products by several years.

TOKYO, May 15 (Xinhua): The Japanese government is planning to reduce the number of people with dementia by setting quantifiable targets to lower the ratio of patients in their 70s, over a six-year period until 2025, sources close to the matter said Wednesday.

The government is hoping the initiative will help counter the rising social security costs involved with caring for sufferers and the scheme will involve the implementation of preventative measures and methods to delay the onset of dementia.

LONDON, May 14 (Xinhua): Chinese researchers have demonstrated in animal experiments that a light-activated adhesive gel can rapidly seal wounds to arteries and the heart, which could have potential applications in surgery in the future, according to a study published online on Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications.

Uncontrolled bleeding following trauma or during surgery is a major cause of death and it is difficult to seal these wounds without sutures.

Kota (Raj), May 14 (PTI) Doctors at the Bundi government hospital removed 116 iron nails, a long wire and an iron pellet from the stomach of a 42-year-old man here.

Dr Anil Saini, a surgeon at the hospital, said most nails measured 6.5 cm and it took an hour-and-a-half to remove the objects from the man's body.

"I was stunned after noticing the objects in his X-ray report after which I recommended for a CT scan. That, too, confirmed the same after which the patient was operated upon on Monday, said Dr Saini.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Five states have joined forces to try and block a new rule from the Trump administration they say weakens labor unions and their ability to collectively bargain for wages and benefits.

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, a Democrat, announced the lawsuit on Monday with attorneys general in Washington, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Oregon.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A jury on Monday ordered agribusiness giant Monsanto Co. to pay a combined $2.055 billion to a couple claiming that the company’s popular weed killer Roundup Ready caused their cancers.

The jury’s verdict is the third such courtroom loss for Monsanto in California since August, but a San Francisco law professor said it’s likely a trial judge or appellate court will significantly reduce the punitive damage award.