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Carrots and plums for better looks!

Researchers at St Andrews and Bristol universities have found that carrots and plums could make one more attractive in just two months. They found that these fruits and vegetables contain pigments called carotenoids that color the skin within two months making a person more attractive and healthy.

9 Jan 2011

No smokers in Britain by 2050

According to a major investment bank there would be no smokers in Britain by 2050. According to Citigroup analyst Adam Spielman the decline is sharp and sure and would show up as no smokers in 30 to 50 years time. The analyses used data to reveal that the percentage of adult smokers in the UK has fallen from 53 per cent in 1960 to 21 per cent in 2008. Spielman said, “If these trends continue, then by 2050 many important tobacco markets will have gone to zero smoking.”

9 Jan 2011

Vaccines for alcoholism and cocaine addiction coming soon

In a latest development, researchers from Chile have come up with a vaccine to cure alcoholics. It will help them kick the habit by creating a sensation of a terrible hangover after just a few drinks. The mechanism by which this vaccine acts is by neutralizing a group of enzymes that help the body to break down alcohol. When the enzymes aldehyde dehydrogenase is disabled the body accumulates the alcohol to create the hangovers after just a few drinks.

9 Jan 2011

Secret behind viruses making covert attacks unravelled: Study

Some viruses use a form of disguise to avoid being detected by the body’s immune system. Now researchers from Melbourne have found out the secret behind the Trojan-horse like phenomenon. Gabrielle Belz and her colleagues at Parkville’s Walter and Eliza Hall Institute in collaboration with researchers from the University of Cambridge found the key viral gene that was responsible for the phenomenon called K3. The study appeared in the current issue of the Journal of Immunology.

9 Jan 2011

More hospital beds close across NSW

Hospital beds on the mid-north coast will start closing from today as the staffing level issue continues. Coffs Harbour and Port Macquarie hospitals will have one in four beds closed. More hospitals in northern NSW will join in. Almost two-thirds of the beds closed at the Orange Base Hospital will not be re-opened for emergency care. Meetings will also be held with staff at Bathurst and Dubbo to decide if any beds will be closed. Thirty five beds have been shut in local hospitals so far, including at Blayney, Coonamble, Canowindra, Condobolin, Grenfell, Wellington and West Wyalong.

9 Jan 2011

Green tea may help in Alzheimer’s disease: Study

A new study finds that a cup of green tea may protect against Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. The researchers looked at the effects of a concentrated green tea extract that had been treated in the laboratory to mimic the effects of normal digestion.

9 Jan 2011

Old flu jabs from pandemic to combat this winter’s peak

With rise of incidence of flu this winter emergency stocks of the vaccine are being released. A review is to be carried out into whether vaccines should be purchased centrally next year in order to avoid shortages. At present the GPs can procure the jabs directly from manufacturers according to their estimates of patient requirement.

9 Jan 2011

Gigantism gene inherited by hundreds: Study

A gene that predicted gigantism in humans was identified in the DNA of the 18th-century man known as the Irish Giant, who was more than 7 feet 7 inches tall. Copies of the same mutation have been found in patients today who suffer from excessive growth, and scientists have concluded they all inherited the gene from a common ancestor.

9 Jan 2011

Simple Alzheimer’s disease test developed

The latest research has shown that a simple blood test could detect Alzheimer’s disease. Applying the same technology it could also detect hard-to-detect cancers and other diseases. The study reports appeared this Thursday in the journal Cell.

9 Jan 2011

Autism-vaccine link study – Complete fraud

There has been a controversy regarding the causative link of vaccines with autism. A report appeared in the British Medical Journal this Wednesday that stated that Dr. Andrew Wakefield, the lead author of a major study to imply such a link had falsified the medical histories of all 12 patients in his study and that he was “hoping to sue vaccine manufacturers and to create a vaccine scare.”

9 Jan 2011

Malaria drug makes cancer drug more effective

Scientists investigating the cancer-fighting properties of artesunate - a drug commonly used to treat malaria - have found early evidence that combining it with an existing cancer drug has the potential to make each drug more effective than when used alone. They also found that regular treatment breaks could improve success levels.

7 Jan 2011

Sniffing women's tears reduces sexual arousal in men

Emotional crying is a universal, uniquely human behavior. When we cry, we clearly send all sorts of emotional signals. In a paper published online today in Science Express, scientists at the Weizmann Institute have demonstrated that some of these signals are chemically encoded in the tears themselves. Specifically, they found that merely sniffing a woman's tears - even when the crying woman is not present -- reduces sexual arousal in men.

7 Jan 2011

Infinity provides guidance on anticipated pipeline and business goals for 2011

Infinity Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today provided guidance on its anticipated pipeline and business goals for 2011. Infinity begins the year with a broad pipeline of four drug candidates in clinical development and a fifth expected to enter the clinic during the year. The company also enters 2011 with approximately $345 million in committed capital.

7 Jan 2011

PCPs and kidney specialists favor collaborative care for progressive chronic kidney disease

Most primary care physicians (PCPs) and kidney specialists favor collaborative care for a patient with progressive chronic kidney disease (CKD), but their preferences on how and when to collaborate differ, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology (CJASN). PCPs and kidney specialists need to partner more effectively to optimize care for patients with CKD.

7 Jan 2011

MedImmune announces in-licensing agreement with Amgen for IL-1 pathway targeting novel monoclonal antibody

MedImmune today announced an in-licensing agreement with Amgen for a novel monoclonal antibody targeting the IL-1 pathway. The antibody, AMG 108, a fully human monoclonal antibody to the IL-1 receptor, has been studied in multiple phase 1 and phase 2 clinical trials and will now be explored by MedImmune for its potential against certain inflammatory diseases.

7 Jan 2011

CORE Health Centers is now Inspire Health

On January 7th CORE Health Centers, LLC: a distinguished outpatient, multi-disciplinary, weight management treatment center in the Chicago area, officially changed its name to Inspire Health. The change to Inspire Health more accurately reflects its mission of providing effective psychological and physiological treatments for healthy weight loss and management.

7 Jan 2011

Scientists identify type of cell at the origin of brain tumors

Scientists have identified the type of cell that is at the origin of brain tumors known as oligodendrogliomas, which are a type of glioma - a category that defines the most common type of malignant brain tumor.

7 Jan 2011

Texas Attorney General does not oppose Baylor-Select joint venture

Baylor Health Care System ("Baylor") and Select Medical Corporation ("Select") today announced that they have received notification from the Office of the Attorney General of the State of Texas that it has completed its review of the proposed joint venture between affiliates of Baylor and Select and does not oppose the joint venture.

7 Jan 2011

Synergy's plecanatide Phase II/III trial to begin in second quarter 2011

Synergy Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a developer of new drugs to treat gastrointestinal (GI) disorders and diseases, today announced that the next clinical trial of plecanatide to treat chronic idiopathic constipation patients, planned to begin in the second quarter of 2011, has been designed as a Phase II/III trial.

7 Jan 2011

Iroko reports positive results from Phase I clinical study of nanotechnology based unique formulation of naproxen

Iroko Pharmaceuticals, LLC today reported the results of the Phase I clinical study of its unique formulation of naproxen, a widely used pain medication, using proprietary, patent protected nanotechnology.

7 Jan 2011