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Gene research may help explain how adorable children become surly teenagers

University of Utah researchers showed that a fruit fly gene is crucial for determining when juveniles begin to mature into adults, and how the transformation initially proceeds. Understanding this process in humans may help explain how adorable children become surly teenagers.

3 Jun 2005

Indirect link between income and healthy eating

A new study of 266 African-American women in Detroit concludes that those who shop regularly in supermarkets eat more fruits and vegetables than those who shop in independent neighborhood markets.

2 Jun 2005

You can teach your child to eat healthier

Parents, take heart: You can teach your child to eat healthier. A study of preadolescent children found that those who attended a behaviorally oriented nutrition education program and were taught to follow a diet low in saturated fat and dietary cholesterol adopted significantly better dietary habits over several years compared to their peers who received only general nutritional information.

1 Jun 2005

Flavonols in food, key to healthy eating?

University of Melbourne scientists may have found the secret of the fresh fruit and vegetables centred ‘Mediterranean diet’.

29 May 2005

Much more needs to be done to tackle heart disease in South Asians in the United Kingdom

Health inequality between ethnic groups in the United Kingdom is widening. Death rates from coronary heart disease in South Asians (immigrants from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka) have declined at a slower rate than in the indigenous population, while evidence shows that second and third generation South Asians seem to be displaying many of the same risk characteristics that make them prone to coronary heart disease as their parents and grandparents.

26 May 2005

Grapefruit extract may help heal stomach ulcers

A new study from Poland has found that grapefruit seed extract, which contains powerful antioxidants, may help heal stomach ulcers.

18 May 2005

Unrestrained retina too much of a good thing

When primitive nerve cells begin forming an eye in the mouse embryo, they are programmed to build a retina. But the ability to see depends upon connecting the retina to the brain via the optic nerve. Unless these embryonic cells are given the right cue at the right time, they mistakenly form a huge eye that consists entirely of retina and lacks the optic nerve.

18 May 2005

Grapefruit have strong antioxidant properties that can have healing effects on stomach ulcers

Extracts of the popular diet item grapefruit have strong antioxidant properties that can have healing effects on stomach ulcers, according to a new study presented today at Digestive Disease Week 2005 (DDW).

17 May 2005

Next steps taken in the UK Government's transformation of school meals

The next steps were taken today in the Government's transformation of school meals as a new School Meals Review Panel started work to develop tough minimum nutrition standards for primary and secondary schools.

16 May 2005

Another thing to add to the fright list - a killer summer for Britain!

Because the Met Office in London are predicting that average British temperatures in July and August this year could be unusually high, with potentially devastating consequences, the British Government has acted to combat a disaster that they feel could threaten thousands of lives - a hot summer.

11 May 2005

UK Chief Medical Officer updates heatwave plan

The dangers of heat were today highlighted by the Chief Medical Officer Sir Liam Donaldson with the publication of an updated heatwave plan and new public information leaflets.

11 May 2005

Role of soft drinks in childhood obesity

Obesity is one of the biggest threats to child health. Genetics, decreases in physical activity, increases in television watching, and consumption of fast food are factors that have led to an increase of childhood obesity in the United States. Excessive consumption of sugar sweetened drinks may also be a key factor.

11 May 2005

New study suggests you might benefit from adding more low-fat dairy to your diet

A new study suggests that increased intake of lowfat dairy foods, as part of a DASH-based eating plan, may lower blood pressure more effectively than a conventional low-fat diet -- a significant finding for the estimated 1 in 3 Americans who suffer from high blood pressure.

9 May 2005

Nutritious cranberries good for the heart as well

Researchers say that cranberries improve the health of pigs’ hearts and may do the same for humans.

8 May 2005

Mosaic Analysis with Double Markers (MADM) - A powerful new tool to study diseases and genetics

A powerful laboratory technique used by fruit fly geneticists for more than a decade is now available to scientists studying genes and diseases in mice.

5 May 2005

Newly identified fly genes provide clue to tumour growth

Researchers from the Oxford University Department of Human Anatomy and Genetics have found a new class of genes that are critical for cell growth and may be involved in the uncontrolled growth that takes place in cancer. The discovery could provide a key to future tumour therapies.

4 May 2005

Potential for brain stem cells to be used to cure diabetes

Promising new research by US scientists has shown the potential for brain stem cells to be used to cure diabetes. The work by Stanford University researchers, though not yet ready to be tested on human patients, has shown promising results in animals.

28 Apr 2005

Update for WIC food program

In an effort to encourage mothers and their children to adopt a healthier lifestyle a new report from the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies plans some changes to its WIC (Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children), which was launched in 1974 as a nutrition program for low-income women, infants, and children.

27 Apr 2005

Researchers zero in on sleep gene

Zeroing in on the core cellular mechanisms of sleep, researchers at University of Wisconsin Medical School have identified for the first time a single gene mutation that has a powerful effect on the amount of time fruit flies sleep.

27 Apr 2005

Scientists have, for the first time, induced a state of reversible metabolic hibernation in mice

Scientists at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have, for the first time, induced a state of reversible metabolic hibernation in mice. This achievement, the first demonstration of "hibernation on demand" in a mammal, ultimately could lead to new ways to treat cancer and prevent injury and death from insufficient blood supply to organs and tissues.

23 Apr 2005