Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche said Tuesday it would pay up to $750 million for rights to a new molecule which boosts the capacity of antibiotics to fight increasingly resistant superbugs.

The molecule named 0P0595 is in the first phase of development and helps restore the efficiency of antibiotics, including penicillin-based ones, to combat super-resistant bacteria.

A large majority of Americans support labeling of genetically modified foods, whether they care about eating them or not.

According to a December Associated Press-GfK poll, 66 percent of Americans favor requiring food manufacturers to put labels on products that contain genetically modified organisms, or foods grown from seeds engineered in labs. Only 7 percent are opposed to the idea, and 24 percent are neutral.

Taiwan on Tuesday slaughtered nearly 6,000 geese after 14 more farms were confirmed to have been infected in the latest outbreak of avian influenza that has led to the culling of more than 140,000 birds.

The confirmation brought to 21 the total number of farms infected by the outbreak since last week -- all in the south -- according to the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine.

Spain's government Monday promised new measures to fight hepatitis C, following protests by patients who complained authorities were denying them the latest drugs to treat the deadly liver disease.

A new committee will draw up a proposal within three weeks of examining the extent of the illness and clinical criteria, aiming to "include newly authorized drugs" in treatment plans, the health ministry said in a statement.

Brazil says it must stem the "epidemic" of Caesarean sections -- now more than half of all births, or more than any other country in the world.

Whether from a fear of pain or that a vaginal birth will leave permanent changes in their sex life -- or based on the recommendation of doctors perhaps looking to bag higher fees associated with the surgery -- more and more Brazilian women are foregoing labor altogether in favor of scheduled C-sections.

How quickly a smoker breaks down nicotine is a guide to which therapy is best for kicking the habit, according to research published Monday.

Most smokers who try to give up tobacco fail within the first week, so matching them to the best treatment is essential, its authors said.

Taiwan on Sunday ordered the slaughter of 16,000 geese and ducks to try to curb a bird flu outbreak that has already led to the culling of 120,000 chickens.

Authorities on Friday ordered the culling of the chickens at a farm in the southern county of Pingtung after samples tested positive for H5N2, one of the less virulent strains of avian flu.

Head Start programs have been shown to help poor children do better in school, but they may also help them fight obesity, a study suggests.

During a year of Head Start preschool, obese and overweight children were much more likely to slim down than comparison groups of kids.

A particularly bad flu is sweeping the United States, killing 26 children so far this season and nearly doubling hospitalizations among people over 65 in the past week alone, officials said Friday.

The reason is the predominant strain of flu this year is H3N2, a variety that has shown itself in prior years to be more virulent than other kinds.

The World Health Organization has approved giving a groundbreaking meningitis vaccine, which does not have to be stored in fridges or iceboxes, to babies across Africa, experts said Friday.

WHO's thumbs up for MenAfriVac in mass immunization programs will boost the campaign against meningitis in the world's poorest continent, the Meningitis Vaccine Project (MVP) said in a statement.