Top US scientists on Wednesday defended their bid to stop details of a mutant bird flu virus from being published and called for global cooperation to ward off an uncontrollable pandemic. Meanwhile, scientists involved in the experiments said they are cooperating with government officials and the editors of the journals Science and Nature to pare down their research for publication in the coming weeks. The controversy arose when two separate research … full story

Adults referred to the commercial weight loss programme Weight Watchers shed twice as much weight as people who received standard care over a 12-month period, according to a study published Thursday. In clinical trials, researchers led by Susan Jebb of the UK Medical Research Council assessed 772 overweight and obese adults in Australia, Germany, and Britain. About half the patients received a year's standard care, while the other half were given … full story