Pregnant women in Britain, where the government provides free healthcare, may soon be able to get a cesarean section on demand thanks to a rule change that critics describe as the health system caving into the "too posh to push" crowd.

Currently, British women who can't afford to pay private doctors for their baby's delivery have been allowed to have planned C-sections only if there are health concerns for mother or baby. Emergency C-sections are done when the situation demands it.

China said Friday it had busted a gang that produced and sold fake medicine -- some made of animal feed -- arresting 114 suspects and seizing more than 65 million counterfeit tablets.

China has frequently been hit by fake drug scandals despite government pledges to improve supervision of the industry, triggering growing public outrage over lax controls and official corruption.

The U.N. says a medical emergency has been declared in northern Angola following confirmation a 14-month-old boy has contracted a new wild polio virus.

In a statement Thursday, the U.N. children and health agencies said the boy lives in an isolated region in Uige province along the Congolese border.

Taiwan moved Thursday to curb eating contests, a fad that has caused at least one death, and suggested the national health insurance stop paying for participants seeking medical treatment afterwards.

Competitions involving eating everything from oversized steaks to meatballs by the dozen are endangering public health and wasting medical resources, according to the Control Yuan, the top government watchdog.

Dermatologists will soon get some high-tech help deciding which suspicious-looking moles should be removed and checked for melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer.

The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday approved a first-of-its-kind device, called MelaFind, that makes detailed, digital images of skin growths and uses a computer to analyze them for signs of cancer, offering a sort of second opinion to doctors.

Australia's world-first plan for plain packaging on cigarettes has been delayed, giving tobacco firms extra time to prepare, the government said Wednesday, with the first sales now due in December 2012.

Health Minister Nicola Roxon said final voting on the laws had been pushed back due to "shenanigans" in the upper house of parliament, meaning tobacco companies would have an extra six months before plain packets were introduced.

Whether sipping beer, wine or whiskey, women who drink just three alcoholic beverages a week face slightly higher chances for developing breast cancer compared with teetotalers, a study of more than 100,000 U.S. nurses found.

The link between alcohol and breast cancer isn't new, but most previous studies found no increased risk for breast cancer among light drinkers. The new research provides compelling evidence because it followed so many women for up to almost 30 years, experts said.

Twin 2-year-old girls who were joined at the chest and abdomen were separated Tuesday during a lengthy, complex procedure at Stanford University's children's hospital.

The operation that gave Philippines-born sisters Angelina and Angelica Sabuco their independence took more than nine hours and a team of more than 40 people.

Scientists said Tuesday they had transformed age-worn cells in people over 90 -- including a centenarian -- into rejuvenated stemcells that were "indistinguishable" from those found in embryos.

The technical feat, reported in the peer-reviewed journal Genes & Development, opens a new path toward regenerative medicine, especially for the elderly, the researchers said.

People who took yoga classes for chronic lower back pain experienced more lifestyle improvements and better overall health than those who sought a doctor's advice, said a study published Monday.

The research in the U.S. journal the Annals of Internal Medicine was led by scientists at the University of York, included more than 300 people and was described as the largest of its kind to date in the United Kingdom.