Mercury for supper
Store-bought swordfish is swimming with mercury, according to a survey spanning 22 US states. Environmental group Oceana analysed 55 steaks from major grocery stores and found that more than half contained above the FDA鈥檚 legal limit of 1 part per million of the heavy metal.
The long wait
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Personalised drugs tailored to match our genomes won鈥檛 become routinely available for at least 15 years, warns a report published on Wednesday by the UK鈥檚 Royal Society. Though such medicines have shown promise in treating cancer, the report says they will not become widespread until much more is known about how genetics relates to disease.
Flu lockdown
H5N1 bird flu continues to spread in Indonesia, with one confirmed death last week and six people hospitalised with suspected infections. The country鈥檚 first human cases occurred in July, with one confirmed and two suspected deaths. Indonesia says it will hospitalise any further suspected cases by force if necessary.
Attack of the superbugs
Doctors in Hong Kong overused powerful antibiotics during the SARS outbreak of 2003 in an attempt to shorten hospital stays while the health system was overburdened. As a result, say microbiologists at the University of Hong Kong, hospitals now face an upsurge in antibiotic-resistant bacteria, with infections having to be treated with surgery or experimental drugs.
Nuclear ping-pong
The applause for North Korea鈥檚 decision to scrap its nuclear weapons programme, in return for aid and security guarantees, lasted just one day. The agreement was signed on Monday after six-nation talks, but North Korea is now asking for a civilian nuclear reactor in exchange. The US and Japan rejected the demand.