WEDNESDAY, May 21 (HealthDay News) -- At least some of the biological risk for childhood asthma and allergies traces back to the womb, new research suggests.

Both the order of birth and even the way a baby is delivered have a significant impact on the long-term strength of a child's allergic defenses, scientists say.

The findings were presented Wednesday during the American Thoracic Society's International Conference, in Toronto.

TUESDAY, May 20 (HealthDay News) -- Using the drug Rifampin to treat people with latent tuberculosis saves time, money and lives, new research shows.

"We found that using a therapy of four months of Rifampin instead of the current nine months of Isoniazid costs significantly less for the health-care system," lead analyst Anne Aspler, of the respiratory epidemiology and clinical research unit at McGill University's Montreal Chest Clinic, said in a prepared statement.