A discovery by University of Otago researchers could pave the way for Alzheimer's disease to be diagnosed by a simple blood test.

Winter is nipping at our heels and so too is the dreaded flu season.

A cure for HIV and Aids could be just a few years away.

Simple rules and advice might help young New Zealanders avoid the fate which awaits too many older Kiwis.

A member of New Zealand's Olympic team has pulled out of Rio 2016 fearing the Zika outbreak.

Scarlet fever is at its most prevalent for almost 50 years, official figures show.

The design of the Ellipta inhaler allows asthma or (COPD) patients to take one correct dosage every day, rather than take several every day.

A report by Argentinian doctors claimed a larvicide used in drinking water was responsible for a rise in cases of microcephaly,not Zika virus.

WHO's declaration that the Zika outbreak is a global health emergency is the fourth time it has used its powers to require international collaboration.

British couples have been advised to stop trying for a baby for up to six months if a partner has returned from one of 23 countries hit by the Zika virus.

Couples have been advised to stop trying for a baby for up to six months if a partner has returned from one of 23 countries affected by the Zika virus.

World Health Organisation director-general Dr Margaret Chan warned yesterday that Zika posed a threat of "alarming proportions".

Travellers have taken to social media to express concerns about visiting countries potentially affected by Zika.

The Cavendish banana is facing extinction from a deadly fungus and may have to be genetically engineered into a new variant, experts say.

New Zealand has the highest rate of melanoma in the world yet we have no effective therapy for advanced melanoma, writes Dr Chris Jackson.

In New Zealand we have a love/hate relationship with Pharmac, the agency that decides which drugs our Government will pay for.

The deaths of two Whangarei rest home residents after an outbreak of respiratory virus at a Waipu care home is being investigated by health officials.

Richmond Villeran put his stomach pains down to his workouts at the gym. But after a week, and with his stomach growing, he knew something was wrong.

Lewy body dementia, the illness blamed for Robin Williams's early death, is often misdiagnosed - with tragic results, says Anna Magee.

Inspired by two friends' battles with cancer, an Auckland woman has decided to conquer the country - by bike.

One week before senior prizegiving, 18-year-old Jake Bailey was told he might not live to see the day.

Jordon Milroy refuses to let cerebral palsy define him.

When Kourtney Ryder experienced lower back pain during her pregnancy doctors put it down to the baby leaning on her spine.

A song, a charity and some sheep are helping fight a rare and always fatal disease that strikes children.

A NZ girl who travelled to the United Kingdom to undergo lifesaving surgery, only to be told she had cancer, has been given the all-clear.

Dr Ilse Dirkzwager specialises in doing scans, so when her identical-twin pregnancy felt wrong, she did a selfie ultrasound on her own belly.

Comedian Urzila Carlson was 20 when she was diagnosed with kidney cancer.

An outbreak of a highly contagious bug at Starship Hospital has forced sick children into isolation meaning families have been ordered to stay away.