Methods of mopping up the oil hitting the shore from the Gulf spill must be carefully assessed to be sure they don't do more harm than good.

The drug company paid experts disciplined for deficiencies in patient care to lecture other doctors on prescribing, finds an analysis by New Scientist.

They are billed as "healthcare professionals who spend years building expertise in their fields". Using materials grounded in science, they educate their peers in the risks and benefits of drugs. This is how Pfizer, the pharmaceuticals giant, describes the experts it hires to lead forums in which doctors are lectured on the use of its products. Yet New Scientist has found that some of Pfizer's experts have been disciplined for deficiencies in patient care, while others have been reprimanded for how they conducted drug research trials.

Green consumers sometimes take the moral high ground

If you care about the environment, you may want to show that in the way you spend your money. These decisions could help steer us towards a truly green economy - but only if consumers and investors have a good idea of which companies have genuinely minimised their impact on the environment.

The strain of life in a crime-ridden inner city seems to send tumours into overdrive. And cancer is just one disease fuelling US health inequalities.

Africa is poised to experience a surge in civil wars, causing nearly 400,000 additional battle deaths by 2030

Insights from marketing and psychology can encourage us all to do our bit to combat global warming.

You might assume that the vast sums the US spends on healthcare must produce better patient outcomes than the rest of the world

Reefs built in cooler waters by oysters and other shellfish are the world's most imperilled marine habitats, according to a report.