Fruit News and Research

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Research investigates DNA of sleep

The research in the renowned Department of Genetics at the University of Leicester is being carried out by Ms Mobina Khericha and Dr Eran Tauber. It represents a new approach to study the genetics of sleep.

24 Jun 2009

New antioxidant supplement may help slow sight loss in elderly

Queen's University Belfast academics have helped develop an antioxidant supplement which may slow down sight loss in elderly people.

18 Jun 2009

New report on obesity calls for better designed urban areas

A new report from the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Health and Ageing on obesity in Australia has called for some major changes in the way Australians live today.

8 Jun 2009

Alcohol and smoking the culprits in bowel cancer

Each year, worldwide around one million new cases of bowel (colorectal) cancer are diagnosed and more than half a million people die from the disease.

4 Jun 2009

Diet low in fat and red meat and high in fruit and veg helps prevent prostate cancer

A new review published in the Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics assessed whether certain modifications in diet have a beneficial effect on the prevention of prostate cancer.

3 Jun 2009

Internet-based programs effective in treating depression – new study

In a discovery that could lead to new treatment approaches for depression, researchers from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) have shown that internet-based therapy programs are as effective as face-to-face therapies in combating the illness.

2 Jun 2009

Discovery of new arenavirus associated with hemorrhagic fever – first identified in nearly four decades

Scientists at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health, the South African National Institute for Communicable Diseases of National Health Laboratory Service (NICD-NHLS), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Roche's 454 Life Sciences Corporation have discovered the new virus responsible for a highly fatal hemorrhagic fever outbreak in Zambia and South Africa in late 2008.

2 Jun 2009

Low antioxidant intake is associated with low reproductive capacity in semen

Low antioxidant intake is associated with low reproductive capacity in semen. This is the finding of a new study carried out in two infertility centres in Alicante and Murcia, and which has been published online in the journal Fertility and Sterility.

2 Jun 2009

Alcohol consumption and cigarette smoking are key causes for bowel cancer

A new global study has found that lifestyle risk factors such as alcohol consumption and cigarette smoking are important risk factors for bowel cancer. Researchers have shown that people who consume the largest quantities of alcohol (equivalent to > 7 drinks per week) have 60% greater risk of developing the cancer, compared with non-drinkers.

2 Jun 2009

Junk food diet influences mental health in young people

According to Australian researchers teenagers who consume plenty of fruit and vegetables have fewer mental health problems.

1 Jun 2009

Pedometers - a great way to tackle obesity in the young!

New research by Australian scientists has revealed that pedometers are as equally as effective in children as they are in adults in encouraging more physical activity.

24 May 2009

Darwinius, a "missing link" between primates and humans

A 47-million-year-old primate fossil, a purported "missing link" between primates and humans, was unveiled this week in New York. The fossil, formally called Darwinius masillae but nicknamed Ida, could, due to it being an essentially whole skeleton, shed light on the construction of the primate family tree, says an expert on primate evolution at Washington University in St. Louis.

22 May 2009

Cancer drugs erlotinib and gefitinib might treat alcoholism

A class of drugs already approved as cancer treatments might also help to beat alcohol addiction. That's the conclusion of a discovery in flies of a gene, dubbed happyhour, that has an important and previously unknown role in controlling the insects' response to alcohol.

22 May 2009

Senate Finance Committee releases policy paper describing options to pay for health overhaul

Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and ranking member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) on Monday released a 41-page document outlining policy options for financing health care reform, The Hill reports (Young, The Hill, 5/18).

19 May 2009

Would eating five portions of fruit and vegetables a day really benefit everyone?

Eating more healthily might be better for us as individuals, but would it be bad news for farmers? A research project funded by the UK Research Councils’ Rural Economy and Land Use Programme had found that if we all followed government advice to eat five portions of fruit and vegetables a day this could have serious implications for the countryside.

19 May 2009

e-mail intervention program helps improve diet and lifestyle

An e-mail intervention program is an effective way to significantly improve diet and physical activity by helping people move more, sit less, and make healthier food choices, according to a Kaiser Permanente Division of Research study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

19 May 2009

Research brings quick, precise view of cell development and gene expression

A team of University of Oregon biologists, using fruit flies, has created a way to isolate RNA from specific cells, opening a new window on how gene expression drives normal development and disease-causing breakdowns.

18 May 2009

The impact of third hand smoke on risk for genetic mutations wins Addiction Science Award

A resourceful study into the effect of third hand smoke upon the risk for genetic mutations in fruit flies won the top Addiction Science Award at this year's Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), the world's largest science competition for high school students.

18 May 2009

Researchers show the effectiveness of folic acid in preventing congenital heart defects

The Canadian policy of fortifying grain products with folic acid has already proved to be effective in preventing neural tube defects.

15 May 2009

Herpes drug Acyclovir does not reduce risk of HIV transmission, does slow HIV progression, study says

The drug acyclovir, which suppresses herpes simplex virus-2, does not reduce the risk of HIV transmission when taken by HIV-positive people who also have herpes, according to a study conducted by researchers at the University of Washington, United Press International reports.

14 May 2009