Today in healthcare: Friday 25 May

News, comment, blogposts and tweets across the sector

9.11am: Clare Horton writes

Good morning and welcome to the daily blog from the Guardian healthcare network. Throughout the day, we'll be rounding up the key news stories, comment, blogposts and tweets across the sector.

And we'd like to hear from you too, if there's an event or report you'd like to share, please add a comment below the line, or tweet us @GdnHealthcare.

Here's a quick look at this morning's health headlines:

The Guardian reports that Britain's two biggest drugmakers - GlaxoSmithKline and AstraZeneca - have joined forces in a £180m research collaboration in the battle against the growing threat from bugs' resistance to antibiotics.

There's also a report on new NHS data, which shows that one in eight women in England are smokers when they give birth.

The Scottish parliament has overwhelmingly passed a bill to introduce a 50p minimum price for alcohol.

And Giles Tremlett reports from Madrid on a court case, in which a Spanish doctor was ordered to pay for the upkeep of a child after a failed abortion operation, which meant the boy's mother was obliged to see her pregnancy through to the end.

Making headlines elsewhere today, the Telegraph reports on plans for a "friends and family test" for hospitals. David Cameron is to announce today that while NHS staff are already asked to take the test, extending it to patients will bring benefits to the health service.

It may be possible to develop a new male contraceptive pill after researchers in Edinburgh identified a gene critical for the production of healthy sperm, reports the BBC.

And the Independent reports that a possible new British case of rabies is being investigated.

Read the complete post at http://www.guardian.co.uk/healthcare-network/2012/may/25/today-in-healthcare-25-may