A Kolkata-based cancer research institute claimed on Friday that it had carried out the country's first successful mixed stem cell transplant on a five-year-old boy suffering from HbE-Beta Thalassemia. A mixture of cord blood and bone marrow cells collected from the boy's younger sister was transplanted to his body, it said.

Menstrual blood has long been discarded as unsanitary and waste, but now stem cells from this very source can be stored and used for treating many ailments. About 1,000 customers have signed up for menstrual blood stem cell banking since it was launched in India in March.

Three UCSF scientists have received grants from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) to advance their investigations of treatment strategies for degenerative muscle diseases, such as muscular dystrophy, and heart disease, and to determine why human embryonic stem cells are susceptible to forming tumors.

The number of people having both cosmetic surgery and beauty treatments such as botox are increasing. But in this week's Scrubbing Up, consultant plastic surgeon Fazel Fatah, president of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS), warns lines between the two are being blurred, and more effective regulation is needed.

Since there is no magic pill that will make us thin, the next best thing seems to be sucking fat out of our bodies. No machine exists, yet, that passes a wand over our fat thighs, bellies and spare tire and vaporizes the offensive fat. Liposuction is about the best cosmetic surgery can offer, and its popularity attests to the effectiveness of the procedure in contouring bodies to our specifications, rather than the geography of our fat deposits.

AUSTRALIANS who overcome clinical obesity through weight-loss surgery can recoup the cost in less than four years, a report finds.

(Reuters Health) - National guidelines help doctors decide how to treat high blood pressure. But tailoring those guidelines to better fit individuals could prevent many more heart attacks and strokes, say developers of a computer model that makes those calculations.

(CNN) - Now babies as young as nine months can get a vaccine to prevent meningitis.  The Food and Drug Administration has approved the drug, Menactra, to be used on babies and toddlers. 

When faced with life-threatening cancer, minority patients may be more likely to drain their bank accounts to extend life than whites, according to a study published online today in Cancer.

An increasing number of people are undergoing cosmetic plastic surgery procedures in an effort to improve their appearance. These procedures can be painful and expensive, and they are usually not paid for by insurance.