Global death rates among newborns under one month old are dropping, a study by the World Health Organization showed Tuesday.

"Newborn deaths decreased from 4.6 million in 1990 to 3.3 million in 2009," the U.N. health agency said in a statement.

Canada's health agency on Tuesday warned would-be parents not to purchase "fresh" semen online, saying it may be tainted with infectious diseases.

"Health Canada is reminding Canadians of the serious potential health risks of using donor semen for assisted conception obtained through potentially unreliable sources, such as the Internet," the government agency said.

Flooding, drought and super storms boosted by climate change are not only poised to ravage human habitats but mental health as well, according to Australian researchers.

"The damage caused by a changing climate is not just physical," they said in a report released this week by the Brain and Mind Institute at the University of Sydney.

The United Nations warned Monday of a possible resurgence of the deadly bird flu virus, saying wild bird migrations had brought it back to previously virus-free countries and that a mutant strain was spreading in Asia.

A mutant strain of H5N1, which can apparently sidestep defenses of existing vaccines, is spreading in China and Vietnam, Tthe U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization said in a statement Monday. It urged greater surveillance to ensure that any outbreaks are contained.

A vaccine routinely used to shield against cervical cancer caused by the human papillomavirus also reduces women's risk of anal cancer, a study published by the journal The Lancet Oncology on Tuesday says.

The trial involved 4,210 healthy women aged 18-25 in Costa Rica, who were randomly assigned the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine Cervarix or an ordinary hepatitis A vaccine as a comparison.

More than 5,000 U.S. children and teens are injured each year in falls from windows, according to a study that suggests the problem stretches beyond urban high-rises.

The research found many children fall from first- and second-story windows.

Researchers in Britain revealed Friday they are exploring whether the nightclubbers' drug ecstasy could be effective in treating blood cancers.

Scientists at the University of Birmingham in central England said modified forms of the drug boosted its ability to destroy cancerous cells by 100 times.

Parliament approved on Wednesday the tobacco control law that would organize the manufacturing and advertisement of tobacco products.

The law, initially proposed by MP Atef Majdalani, was amended to allow the tourism police to fine restaurant owners double the minimum wage should they the law be violated.

Coffee has been shown to reduce the risk of skin cancer by helping kill off damaged cells that could otherwise turn into tumors, according to a U.S. study published on Monday.

The findings indicate that moderate caffeine drinking, or perhaps even applying coffee to the skin, could be useful in warding off non-melanoma cancer, the most commonly diagnosed of all skin cancers.

Scientists in Canada said Monday that they plan to study whether eating dark chocolate not only satisfies sweet tooth cravings, but protects against sunburn as well.

The study by researchers at Laval University in Quebec will monitor the effects of chocolate consumption on fair-skinned volunteers between the ages of 25 and 65, each of whom will be prevailed upon to eat three squares of chocolate per day for 12 weeks.