February 3, 2006

Researchers have reported the first decline in HIV prevalence in southern Africa, attributing the drop, recorded in eastern Zimbabwe, to changes in sexual behavior.

February 3, 2006

As the world waited for one computer virus to strike on Friday, another wriggled its way into the Russian stock exchange and knocked it offline.

Computer experts had warned that 3 February could bring gloom for many as a computer virus called Nyxem was scheduled to start deleting files on machines it had infected.

February 4, 2006

Two more Indonesians have died of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu, bringing the nation's death toll to 16. the recent deaths had been confirmed by a World Health Organization-affiliated laboratory in Hong Kong.

February 5, 2006

Rescuers yesterday failed in a dramatic attempt to save a rare sperm whale stranded at the mouth of the Humber estuary. The leviathan's death, on a sandbank three-quarters of a mile from the shore, is the second of a whale along the east coast in as many weeks.

February 5, 2006

American and U.N. health experts tried Sunday to help this war-ravaged country fight a new battle against bird flu, and officials said at least eight people have been hospitalized with symptoms similar to those caused by the virus. Under U.S. military guard, American and World Health Organization epidemiologists, veterinary experts and clinicians are expected to work together across the northern Kurdistan region to find out how the disease entered Iraq and how to contain it.

February 6, 2006

The team from the University of Rochester Medical Center found that the issue is not really impaired memory. Instead, the team found a link between complaints of forgetfulness and the way middle-aged, stressed women learn or "encode" new information..

February 7, 2006

Pesticides used by US corn growers are combining to kill off the country's native frogs. Research shows that commonly used pesticides, fairly harmless by themselves, are mixing to create a toxic soup in runoff water. This stunts the frogs' sexual development and leaves them susceptible to fatal infections.

February 8, 2006

A Canadian study has good news for parents of babies born at an extremely low birth weight: As these children grow up, they seem to catch up with their normal-birth-weight peers - graduating from high school, getting jobs, living on their own and entering into adult relationships.

February 9, 2006

The first samples of dust from a comet billions of miles away have arrived in the UK to undergo analysis. The grains were captured by the US space agency's Stardust probe from a comet dating back to the beginning of our universe, 4.6 billion years ago.