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Moderate alcohol intake helps women think

Research involving more than 7,000 older women found that those who drink a moderate amount of alcohol have slightly higher levels of mental function than non-drinkers, particularly in verbal abilities.

1 Jun 2006

Canadians get tough with smokers

Today, May 31, 2006, the new Smoke Free Ontario legislation came into effect in Canada.

31 May 2006

Arsenic inhibits DNA repair

Dartmouth researchers, working with scientists at the University of Arizona and at the Department of Natural Resources in Sonora, Mexico, have published a study on the impact of arsenic exposure on DNA damage.

30 May 2006

Cognitive behavioral therapy effective in treating irritable bowel syndrome

According to the latest research behavioral therapy was more effective in treating the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) than being on a waiting list for treatment.

29 May 2006

Common household cleaners and air fresheners may lead to health risks

When used indoors under certain conditions, many common household cleaners and air fresheners emit toxic pollutants at levels that may lead to health risks.

24 May 2006

Heavy marijuana use not linked to lung cancer

Despite popular belief, a new study shows that people who smoke marijuana do not appear to be at increased risk of developing lung cancer.

24 May 2006

FDA says too much benzene in some soft drinks

According to the Food and Drug Administration in the U.S. following testing the cancer-causing chemical benzene were found in some soft drinks; the FDA say they were not at high enough levels to cause harm.

22 May 2006

Small molecule interactions were central to the origin of life

In an important new paper forthcoming in the June issue of The Quarterly Review of Biology, Robert Shapiro (New York University) argues against the widely held theory that the origin of life began with the spontaneous appearance of a large, replicating molecule such as RNA.

17 May 2006

Maternal psychological distress during pregnancy in relation to child development

Many cultures hold that stress during pregnancy affects a woman's unborn child. However, there has been surprisingly little research on the topic.

17 May 2006

Cancer-causing chemicals associated with tobacco smoke found in the urine of nearly half the babies of smoking parents

When mum or dad puffs on a cigarette, their infants may inhale the resulting second-hand smoke. Now, scientists have detected cancer-causing chemicals associated with tobacco smoke in the urine of nearly half the babies of smoking parents.

12 May 2006

Grapefruit substance that interferes with drugs identified

New research from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has identified and established the substance in grapefruit juice that causes potentially dangerous interactions with certain medications.

10 May 2006

European Food Safety Authority says Aspartame quite safe to use

According to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), on the basis of all the currently available evidence, a further review of the safety of aspartame is not necessary.

9 May 2006

Renewed interest in studying influenza A viruses

The emergence of the avian influenza virus H5N1 that is currently devastating chicken flocks in many countries and threatening to unleash a worldwide epidemic among humans has triggered a renewed interest among scientists in studying influenza A viruses, according to investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

9 May 2006

Calorie counting may lessen the effects of aging

A lifelong habit of trimming just a few calories from the daily diet can do more than slim the waistline - a new study shows it may help lessen the effects of aging.

8 May 2006

Gene silencing protein discovered

A team of researchers, including biologists at Washington University in St. Louis, has discovered the key role one protein plays in a major turn-off -in this case, the turning off of thousands of nearly identical genes in a hybrid plant.

8 May 2006

MicroCT-based virtual histology

Utah and Texas researchers combined miniature medical CT scans with high-tech computer methods to produce detailed three-dimensional images of mouse embryos - an efficient new method to test the safety of medicines and learn how mutant genes cause birth defects or cancer.

8 May 2006

Online infusion calculator and a computerized drug ordering system reduces medication errors in children

Two new studies from the Johns Hopkins Children's Center show that computerizing ordering of chemotherapy and other types of intravenous drug infusions for children greatly reduces the risk of potentially dangerous medical errors.

8 May 2006

Scientists learn valuable lesson from nature - secret behind nature's medicines

After years of wondering how organisms managed to create self-medications, such as anti-fungal agents, chemists have discovered the simple secret.

3 May 2006

Environmentally damaged DNA may contribute to human genetic diversity

In this month's issue of the leading scientific journal Genome Research, scientists from Kyushu University report how environmentally damaged DNA may contribute to human genetic diversity.

2 May 2006

New technique to speed discovery of drug targets in chemical genetics

Researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center have developed a new technique to speed discovery of drug targets in chemical genetics. Fox Chase researcher Jeffrey R. Peterson, Ph.D., and his colleagues describe a new way to swiftly find the proteins targeted by small molecule inhibitors during high-throughput screening (HTS) experiments. The new work offers a critical solution to a common stumbling block in this booming field of drug discovery.

26 Apr 2006