In South Africa, Using Mobile Technology to Improve Maternal Health Access

Eighty percent of the 13 million Malawians live in rural areas, making delivering health services challenging, especially in remote parts with no roads.

One million babies die each year on the day they are born, according to a new study released by the international nonprofit Save the Children. In its annual "State of the World's Mothers" report, the group has ranked which countries are best and worst at helping newborns survive their first day of life.

In Malawi, an estimated 60 percent of women report having serious problems accessing health care due to distance. But as mobile technology skyrockets across the African continent, the ministry of health and NGOs are collaborating with communities to use cell phones to address causes of poor health care for women and children.

Community health workers in Zambia receive new cell phones as incentives to continue their malaria rapid reporting. Zambia is home to the deadliest form of a parasite that causes malaria, with the disease affects more than 4 million people in country a year.

Edward O. Wilson's "Letters to a Young Scientist" is a book about finding your passion for science and following it faithfully. "Be prepared mentally for some amount of chaos and failure," he writes. "Daydream a lot."

In other news Friday, the British government has ordered that products be tested after a major European food supplier found horse meat had been marketed as a beef ingredient. Also, police in California and Nevada continued their manhunt for Christopher Dorner, an ex-Los Angeles cop who has been on a deadly killing spree.

At least nine people have been killed for their involvement in Pakistan's polio eradication campaign to deliver vaccines to 33 million children. The World Health Organization and UNICEF announced a temporary suspension of the vaccination campaign due to safety concerns. Tom Clarke of Independent Television News reports.

In North America, only one in 25 cancers can be blamed on infectious agents. In developing countries, it's one of every four cancers, according to a recent study in the medical journal The Lancet Oncology.

As the death toll from cholera continues to mount in Haiti, results from a successful pilot project to vaccinate 100,000 Haitians for cholera are providing some hope for Haitians and international health officials. This story continues NewsHour's coverage about on-going efforts to treat cholera and improve sanitation in Haiti.

Since the invention of the Pap smear, deaths from cervical cancer in the United States have plummeted. In India, a simpler test is being performed that may achieve similar results. The secret ingredient: common household vinegar.