People will choose larger portions of food if they are labeled as being “healthier,” even if they have the same number of calories, according to a new study. “People think (healthier food) is lower in calories,” said Pierre Chandon, a marketing professor at the INSEAD Social Science Research Center in France, and they “tend to [...]
HANOI- The number of diabetics in Vietnam has increased by 211 percent compared to 10 years ago, while the number of people with glucose tolerance disorder has nearly doubled, local press reported Thursday. The figure was released at a conference held recently by Ho Chi Minh City Nutrition Center and the city health department at [...]
Scientists unveiled a concept vaccine against flu that they said may protect against various strains with a single jab. Tested in ferrets, considered good human models, the synthetic vaccine uses nanotechnology to attack parts of the influenza virus that different strains have in common, they wrote in the journal Nature. “It provides a basis for [...]
The world is unprepared for a massive virus outbreak, the deputy chief of the World Health Organisation warned Tuesday, amid fears that H7N9 bird flu striking China could morph into a form that spreads easily among people. Keiji Fukuda told delegates at a WHO meeting that despite efforts since an outbreak of another form of [...]
Toothbrushes are all set to take up a new role. They may soon deliver your morning coffee and get you up and alert even faster. Even more exciting is that they could even deliver your medications in the future! A recent patent application has been filed by the Colgate-Palmolive Company to manufacture toothbrushes that contain [...]
Scientists said Tuesday they had managed to kill lab-grown tuberculosis (TB) bacteria with good old Vitamin C — an “unexpected” discovery they hope will lead to better, cheaper drugs. A team from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York made the accidental find while researching how TB bacteria become resistant to the TB drug [...]
According to a new study published in the European Spine Journal, antibiotics rather than surgery could cure many patients with chronic lower back pain. The Danish study reveals the breakthrough that could save hospital costs to treat back pain and slipped disks tp as mych as US$500 million a year. An earlier interview of Australian [...]
People will choose larger portions of food if they are labeled as being “healthier,” even if they have the same number of calories, according to a new study. “People think (healthier food) is lower in calories,” said Pierre Chandon, a marketing professor at the INSEAD Social Science Research Center in France, and they “tend to [...]
Scientists said Tuesday they had managed to kill lab-grown tuberculosis (TB) bacteria with good old Vitamin C — an “unexpected” discovery they hope will lead to better, cheaper drugs. A team from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York made the accidental find while researching how TB bacteria become resistant to the TB drug [...]
Air pollution and noise pollution may boost a person’s risk of developing heart disease, say German researchers. “Many studies have looked at air pollution, while others have looked at noise pollution,” said study leader Barbara Hoffmann, MD, MPH, a professor of environmental epidemiology at the IUF Leibniz Research Institute for Environmental Medicine in Germany. “This [...]
Researchers at the University of Western Australia and Wales’ Swansea University have revealed that high intensity video games may be good for children. A study which evaluated children’s energy levels and heart rate when they played active video games such as Wii Fit or Xbox Kintect, found that they used as much energy playing such [...]
Cold weather affects blood pressure, says recent study. The study has found that some people’s blood pressure is affected more by the cold weather and this blood pressure sensitivity to temperature may be a marker of early mortality, said a statement from the University of Glasgow. Sandosh Padmanabhan, reader at the Institute of Cardiovascular and [...]
Scientists from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) have helped to develop a molecular structure which can kill various tumour cells without causing much harm to healthy cells. Along with a team from Lund University in Sweden, they based the complex on a protein naturally present in human breast milk. This has been found to have strong [...]
Scientists unveiled a concept vaccine against flu that they said may protect against various strains with a single jab. Tested in ferrets, considered good human models, the synthetic vaccine uses nanotechnology to attack parts of the influenza virus that different strains have in common, they wrote in the journal Nature. “It provides a basis for [...]
Toothbrushes are all set to take up a new role. They may soon deliver your morning coffee and get you up and alert even faster. Even more exciting is that they could even deliver your medications in the future! A recent patent application has been filed by the Colgate-Palmolive Company to manufacture toothbrushes that contain [...]
In the national capital, an advanced digital breast cancer detecting machine with the capability to see the lesions in breasts with much more clarity than ever before was unveiled. The mammography machine ‘Amulet’ by Fuji films is claimed to be India’s first low dose resolution system. Speaking at the launch, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sushma [...]
An implant in combination with a gel was found to restore the functionality of a torn or damaged nerve. The innovative project’s initial successes were reported recently at several renowned scientific congresses, and the therapy, already tested in animal models, is only a few years away from clinical use, Rochkind said. A nerve is like [...]
SINGAPORE – Patients suffering from chronic pain are set to benefit more from a group of controversial drugs that may prove better at managing their conditions. For the first time in Singapore, guidelines have been published on how to prescribe these strong painkillers, which include morphine. This will give doctors, who are worried about the [...]
Researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center have moved a step closer to the goal of prevention of head and neck cancers. Head and neck cancers typically begin in squamous cells that line moist surfaces inside the mouth, nose and throat. Squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (HNSCC) is the sixth most common type [...]
Sildenafil – a drug used to treat erectile dysfunction could serve as a weight loss aid, say researchers. According to the research, this is because sildenafil inhibits the breakdown of cyclic GMP, which has been well known as a messenger molecule used by the body to control blood pressure and flow, and has now been [...]
Roche Holding AG’s Japanese subsidiary Chugai said on Monday that Japanese health regulators have approved a new formulation of its rheumatoid arthritis drug Actemra. Japanese regulators have approved a subcutaneous forumulation of Actemra which shortens the delivery time of the drug compared to an intravenous formulation and can be administered at home. Roche has also [...]
Naproxen – pain reliever was found to exhibit antiviral activity against influenza A virus, find researchers. New influenza vaccines must be developed annually, because the surface proteins they target mutate rapidly, the way cars used to get a whole new look every year. The researchers, led by Anny Slama-Schwok of the Institut National de la [...]
In older people, intake of Mediterranean diet with added virgin olive oil or mixed nuts seems to improve the brain power, finds research. The researchers from the University of Navarra in Spain base their findings on 522 men and women aged between 55 and 80 without cardiovascular disease but at high vascular risk because of [...]
Dark chocolate contains high amount of potassium and copper and helps reduce heart disease, high in iron content dark chocolates can also cure anemia, say doctors. An online study indicates that a person should consume two or three grams of sweet candies a week to reap its health benefits. The research also suggests that if [...]
Fish therapy has found its way to the Gaza Strip with Fouad Yahya, who learnt about it on the internet, becoming one of the first patients to be treated for his skin disease by a fish. “I smiled as I inserted both of my feet in a vessel filled with warm freshwater containing dozens of [...]
Purified components of ginger may help asthma patients breathe more easily, says study. Asthma is characterized by bronchoconstriction, a tightening of the bronchial tubes that carry air into and out of the lungs. Bronchodilating medications called beta-agonists are among the most common types of asthma medications and work by relaxing the airway smooth muscle (ASM) [...]
Natural face packs made of fruits and herbs can help in getting rid of acne. Chandrika Mahendra, senior research scientist, R&D, The Himalaya Drug Company, shares few home remedies for treating acne. Aloe Vera-turmeric pack: Aloe vera is rich in enzymes, polysaccharides and nutrients that exhibit antibacterial and antifungal action. Aloe Vera acts as a [...]
HANOI- The number of diabetics in Vietnam has increased by 211 percent compared to 10 years ago, while the number of people with glucose tolerance disorder has nearly doubled, local press reported Thursday. The figure was released at a conference held recently by Ho Chi Minh City Nutrition Center and the city health department at [...]
SINGAPORE – Dengue infection numbers surged last week with 620 people falling sick – up more than 10 per cent on the previous seven days. The only time Singapore has recorded a higher rate was during the country’s worst epidemic in 2005, a year when 14,000 people fell sick and 25 died. By 3pm on [...]
Venezuelans are experiencing a huge shortage of toilet paper, and stores seem to have run out of stocks. The demand is huge and supply is so short, that the government has ordered 50 million rolls to meet the demand. Most specialists have blamed the current situation to price controls, which has caused shortage of staple [...]
CHINA – The authorities in Guangdong’s provincial capital promised to expand inspections of rice and related products after detecting eight batches of tainted rice and rice noodles. The move aims to ensure only quality rice, rice noodles and related products are sold in the southern metropolis where the grain is a staple food, according to [...]
SINGAPORE – The Health Ministry is “closely monitoring” the Sars-like virus that recently infected two health workers in Saudi Arabia, it said yesterday. But it has not advised against visiting the country as the World Health Organisation (WHO) has not recommended any restrictions on travelling to affected areas, added the ministry’s statement in response to [...]
The world is unprepared for a massive virus outbreak, the deputy chief of the World Health Organisation warned Tuesday, amid fears that H7N9 bird flu striking China could morph into a form that spreads easily among people. Keiji Fukuda told delegates at a WHO meeting that despite efforts since an outbreak of another form of [...]
On a routine basis, food microbiology laboratories continue to submit false negative results and false positive results. A retrospective study of nearly 40,000 proficiency test results over the past 14 years, presented today at the 113th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology, examined the ability of food laboratories to detect or rule out [...]
More than 25 million people who suffer from a disease that is not easy to diagnose and can be fatal – pulmonary hypertension – commemorated World Pulmonary Hypertension Day last Sunday. Many are familiar with the disease called hypertension (high blood pressure), which is an elevated blood pressure measured by a cuff around the arm. [...]
Binge drinking in college can increase a healthy adult’s risk of developing cardiovascular disease later in life, says study published in Journal of the American College of Cardiology. “Regular binge drinking is one of the most serious public health problems confronting our college campuses, and drinking on college campuses has become more pervasive and destructive,” [...]
The brains of children react in a way different from that of others, when they see images of others in pain. This pattern of reduced brain activity upon witnessing pain may serve as a neurobiological risk factor for later adult psychopathy, say researchers who report their findings in the Cell Press journal Current Biology on [...]
A new finding offers new insight into how pathogens break through a host’s defenses. Parasitic wasps switch off the immune systems of fruit flies by draining calcium from the flies’ blood cells. “We believe that we have discovered an important component of cellular immunity, one that parasites have learned to take advantage of,” says Emory [...]
Salt levels in processed foods or foods sold at fast food restaurants are high despite calls by medical experts, finds US study. Americans on average eat more than twice the recommended daily allowance of salt, and as much as 80 percent of sodium consumption comes from salt that is added by restaurants or in the [...]
SUNGAI PETANI – A 23-year-old man died 12 hours after he and six of his siblings were hospitalised, because of suspected leptospirosis, a disease caused by exposure to rat urine. Abu Hanifah Redzuan, a worker for a film production company in Kuala Lumpur, died at Sultan Abdul Halim Hospital here at 4.30pm on Saturday. The [...]
A new study has said that consuming white vegetables provides as much nutrition as consuming the colorful ones, so one must not forgo eating them. Not many may know that the humble looking potato is an important source of many vitamin and minerals. Nutritionists said that white veggies are good for health and high on [...]
A local media reports that Kuwait will soon bar foreigners from attending public hospitals in the mornings. The decision comes after complaints in parliament of Kuwaiti patients having to wait for treatment at public health facilities because of the large number of expatriates. Health Minister Mohammad al-Haifi, who is also a surgeon, ordered that the [...]
A new research claims that mosquitoes infected with the malaria-causing parasite plasmodium are more attracted to human odor than those not infected. The authors investigated the response of mosquitoes infected with P. falciparum malaria parasites and uninfected to human odor collected on a fabric matrix. Mosquitoes that were infected with the parasites landed and probed [...]
CHINA – An expert says China is not ready for mass consumption of insects, which the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation claims could protect the environment and help solve the food crisis. The solution to the global problem comes in a research report titled Edible Insects: Future Prospects for Food and Feed Security, issued by [...]
Adding a plant-derived compound called a sterol to the cholesterol-lowering agent red yeast rice doesn’t make it work any better, according to a new study. “I expected to see a synergistic effect with red yeast rice, and I was shocked to see no effects whatsoever,” the study’s lead author Dr. David Becker told Reuters Health. [...]
BEIJING- China’s Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) on Wednesday said that foot-and-mouth disease infections have been confirmed in cattle in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. On May 10, a village in Urumqi County, Urumqi City, reported that 106 head of cattle showed suspected signs of the disease, according to the MOA. The National Foot-and-Mouth Disease [...]
New study pointed out that handbags of women are contaminated with bacteria much more than the numbers of bacteria found in a restroom. The handles of bags were found to have many dangerous bacteria present on them which could pose a problem to human health. One would hardly expect the most contaminated item to be [...]
