BRIGHTON, England (Reuters) - Lecturing people on how to live a healthy life can be counterproductive unless individuals can be persuaded to change their behavior, new health minister Andrew Lansley said Wednesday.

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Asia’s fast-aging population will make up more than half of the world’s dementia patients in 40 years, with China shouldering the biggest chunk.

PENSACOLA BEACH, FLA (Reuters) - The mental health impacts of the BP oil spill will dwarf those encountered after the last major oil spill off U.S. shores, a sociologist who studied the Exxon Valdez spill told Florida volunteers on Tuesday.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - More than 1.5 million cancer survivors in the United States are parents living with children younger than age 18, according to a study published online today in the journal Cancer.

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Asia’s fast-aging population will make up more than half of the world’s dementia patients in 40 years, with China shouldering the biggest chunk.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The human body makes rare antibodies effective against all flu viruses and these might be boosted to design a better universal flu treatment, researchers reported on Monday.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - American kids can breathe a sigh of relief, according to a study out today in the journal Pediatrics that finds their exposure to second-hand smoke at home has dropped significantly since the mid-1990s.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Advice from a trusted beautician carries a lot of weight.

LONDON (Reuters) - Iranian scientists say they have developed a way of using a simple blood test to predict accurately when women will reach the menopause, offering the chance for women to plan for family and career far in advance.

LONDON (Reuters) - An international team of scientists working on the largest study to date to look at DNA and type 2 diabetes say they have found 12 new gene links that offer important clues to how the chronic disease works.