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Final tests negative for mad cow disease in the U.S.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) in Ames, Iowa, has determined that the non-definitive test result reported on July 27 is negative for BSE. Tests conducted by the Veterinary Laboratories Agency in Weybridge, England, are also negative for BSE.

4 Aug 2005

Women's fitness important for survival

Researchers are saying that women whose exercise capacity is less than 85 percent of what is determined as normal in standard stress tests, are twice as likely as other women to die within eight years.

4 Aug 2005

New study aims to understand the intricate biochemistry governing gene regulation

In their efforts to understand the complex biology of life, scientists often seek to isolate individual elements of the puzzle for study, to break the problem down to a more manageable size. Single genes and molecules are closely analyzed to better understand their specific interactions with other single entities within larger systems.

4 Aug 2005

New surgical cleaning process reduces risk of vCJD

Scientists say a new cleaning process will reduce the risk of hospital transmission of the human form of mad cow disease.

4 Aug 2005

Scientists have a plan to prevent bird flu pandemic

According to scientists the H5N1 strain of bird flu circulating in Asia which could mutate into a lethal strain and cause a pandemic, could be contained.

4 Aug 2005

Drinking in moderation boosts brainpower

In news guaranteed to prompt more than a few toasts down the pub, Aussie researchers are saying that among those who enjoy a bevy or two, moderate drinkers are better thinkers than teetotallers or those who overindulge.

4 Aug 2005

NicStic - world's first smokeless and tobacco-free cigarette to go on sale

According to Swissmedic, the Swiss Agency for Therapeutic Products, the NicStic is not a medicinal product and the way has been cleared for its commercial production.

4 Aug 2005

Mixing slow-release painkillers with alcohol - potentially deadly

Health Canada has issued a warning that mixing some slow-release painkillers with alcohol could be potentially deadly.

4 Aug 2005

Risk of metabolic syndrome raised even by secondhand smoke

A new study has shown that even secondhand smoke can raise the risk of metabolic syndrome, a condition marked by obesity, high blood pressure, unhealthy cholesterol levels and pre-diabetes.

4 Aug 2005

Updated view of global nutrition

While nutritional status has improved worldwide over the past fifty years, new nutrition-related problems have also emerged. In an article recently published in The Journal of Nutrition, Eileen Kennedy DSc, RD, dean of the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, offers an updated view of global nutrition.

4 Aug 2005

Researchers have developed a nomogram specifically for women to predict their expected exercise capacity at any given age

Researchers have developed a nomogram (alignment chart) specifically for women that can be used to predict their expected exercise capacity at any given age, as well as demonstrated that the resulting measure is a predictor of the risk of death.

4 Aug 2005

New insights into dietary divergences between some of our human ancestors

A Penn State researcher is part of the team that developed techniques that have generated insights into dietary divergences between some of our human ancestors, allowing scientists to better understand the evolutionary path that led to the modern-day diets that humans consume.

3 Aug 2005

Obese people are less likely to receive preventive services such as mammograms, Pap smears and flu shots

The Duke study showed that, for a sample of white middle-aged women, as body mass index (BMI) went up, the odds of receiving mammograms and Pap smears went down.

3 Aug 2005

Researchers pinpoint specific cause of defects in motor learning in Fragile X patients

While researchers have long known the genetic defect underlying Fragile X syndrome, they are still tracing how that defect creates the complex mix of mental retardation, hyperactive behavior, attention deficits, and other problems in the disorder.

3 Aug 2005

Containment of a Southeast Asian outbreak of avian influenza in humans may be possible

Though quick to caution about the many things that could go wrong, researchers say that it may be possible to contain a Southeast Asian outbreak of avian influenza in humans, buying precious time for the production of a vaccine.

3 Aug 2005

Bone marrow-derived cells fail to meet high expectations says Bonn study

Adult stem cells taken from bone marrow are the "shooting stars" of their field. Many research scientists have been speculating that the cells might be able to pass through the blood into diseased organs and replace defective tissue. Such cells are seen as the potential key to the treatment of certain muscle diseases.

3 Aug 2005

Scientist have found an unexpected effect of the interaction of PTEN and p53 genes in early stage prostate cancer

Prostate cancer, the second leading cause of cancer death for men in the United States, is caused by changes in several tummor suppressor genes including PTEN and p53. Up to 70 percent of men with prostate cancer have lost one copy of the PTEN gene at the time of diagnosis, and p53 is absent in a high number of patients with advanced prostate cancer.

3 Aug 2005

Melanoma is being overdiagnosed

New research published online by the British Medical Journal (BMJ) today (Thursday 4 August 2005) suggests that melanoma is being overdiagnosed in the United States.

3 Aug 2005

Alcohol linked to an increased risk of upper gastrointestinal cancer

Researchers looking for the potential biochemical basis for this link have focused on acetaldehyde, a suspected carcinogen formed as the body metabolizes alcohol.

3 Aug 2005

Obesity's effects on mortality may have been over-estimated

New research shows that obese adults who reach the age of 70 are at no greater risk of dying than their non-obese counterparts, but they do have a much greater probability of spending their remaining years disabled. The data supporting this is reported in the August 2005 issue of The Gerontologist (Vol. 45, No. 4).

3 Aug 2005