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Deadly Researchers have uncovered more evidence of the harmful effects of exposure to smoking. According to a Finnish study, even small amounts of second-hand tobacco smoke can be deadly to children. The researchers did an annual check of the blood of 400 children aged 8 to 11 for the presence of cotine, a substance which the body produces as it breaks down the nicotine in tobacco smoke. Ultrasound tests on children who had high levels of cotine showed that the function of their arteries had been harmed by exposure to second-hand smoke. The study is appears in the American Heart Association journal Circulation. Eating Veggies Helps Keep the Brain Young American researchers say eating vegetables appears to keep the brain young. The research involving about 2,000 people aged 65 and above showed that older people who ate more than two servings of vegetables daily appeared about five years younger at the end of the study compared to those who ate few or no vegetables. Green leafy vegetables, which contain healthy amounts of vitamin E, were found to be the most beneficial. The researchers said this was probably because vegetables are typically consumed with added fats such as salad dressings, which increase the absorption of vitamin E and help keep the arteries clear. The participants were asked to complete a food frequency questionnaire and given two cognitive tests during the six-year study. The research, which was funded by the National Institute on Aging, was published in the journal Neurology. Alcohol Linked to Cancer Cases Alcohol consumption is linked to 3.6 percent of cancer cases worldwide, which lead to 3.5 percent of all cancer deaths. According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer in Lyon, France, a causal link has been established between alcohol drinking and cancers of the oral cavity, pharynx, esophagus, colon, rectum, liver, larynx and breast. A causal association was suspected for other cancers. Researchers said there were 389,100 cases of cancer attributable to alcohol in 2002. More than 60 percent of alcohol-related cancers in men were in the upper digestive tract and about 60 percent of alcohol-related cancers in women were in the breast. Their findings were published in the International Journal of Cancer. Women's Skin Ages Faster than Men's A study says women age faster than men, as far as skin is concerned. Researchers from Germany's Freidrich Schiller University and the Fraunhofer Institute of Biomedical Technology used pulses of infrared laser light to look at the deeper layers of skin to measure damage from sun exposure and aging. They came to the conclusion that women's skin ages faster than men's because women lose collagen at a faster rate. Collagen is responsible for the strength of skin. It is produced naturally by the human body in large quantities when we are young but the amount diminishes as we grow older. The decline in the body's production of collagen and elastin is what causes wrinkles and loss of the skin's smoothness. The study appears in Optic Letters, a journal of the Optical Society of America. Baby Hormone Stops Breast Cancer It's already known that having a baby by the age of 20 cuts by half a woman's risk of breast cancer. There's more good news in the fight against the dreaded disease. U.S. Researchers say the hormone hcg, which heralds pregnancy, could prevent breast cancer. In tests conducted at the Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia, it was found that hcg, which is produced by the placenta during pregnancy, offers women protection against the cancer. The tests involving rats showed how hcg changes breast cells' DNA to make them more resilient to cancerous changes. That's because breast cells do not reach full maturity until a woman has had a full-term pregnancy, the scientists told an annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research. Their study confirmed that the protection conferred was specific to hcg and was not found with other female hormones. Birds Are Brainier Than First Thought Birds are not stupid and their brains are not primitive. That is the conclusion of a group of international avian experts, who are calling for a new map of the avian brain that reflects its true structure. The existing system, which dates back a hundred years, suggests that a bird's brain is mostly basal ganglia, and that this area controls primitive brain function and instinctive behaviour. But the researchers say this is neither true and that the bird brain more closely resembles human brains. They say birds can use tools and songs, imitate speech to communicate and they can count. So next time someone calls you a bird brain, meaning stupid, don't take it as an insult but as a compliment. Heart Disease: it's All in the Genes A gene linked directly to heart attacks has been isolated from an extended Iowa family with a history of rampant coronary artery disease. Doctors said the gene, called MEF2A, protects the artery walls from building up plaque that can impede blood flow and trigger heart attacks. They said anyone who has this gene mutation is destined to have the disease. On the other hand, those who don't have it appear to be free from developing the disease. In other words, It all boils down to having the right parents and the right genes. The discovery was reported in the journal Science. Earth Is Hottest in 400 years The Earth is the hottest it has been in at least 400 years, probably even longer. The National Academy of Sciences, reaching that conclusion in a broad review of scientific work requested by Congress, reported that the "recent warmth is unprecedented for at least the last 400 years and potentially the last several millennia." A panel of top climate scientists told lawmakers that the Earth is heating up and that "human activities are responsible for much of the recent warming." Their 155-page report said average global surface temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere rose about 1 degree during the 20th century. This is shown in boreholes, retreating glaciers and other evidence found in nature, said Gerald North, a geosciences professor at Texas A&M University who chaired the academy's panel. A New Slant on Midnight Snacks Scientists at Oregon Health & Science University say eating at night doesn't make you fatter than eating during the day. They found that there is no link between the time we eat and the amount of weight we gain. Although the tests were performed on monkeys, the results apply to humans as well. Many of the monkeys ate in the evening and at night. It was determined that the weight gain was not affected by the time of day they ate. That's good news for late-night snackers. But beware. The scientists didn't say you won't gain an extra pound eating at night. It's just that there is no correlation between the weight gained and the time of day one eats. The findings were presented at a meeting of the Society for Neuroscience. Indian Man's Feat Stumps Doctors Here's one for Ripley's Believe It or Not! An Indian man claims to have lived 68 years without eating, drinking or relieving himself. To prove his point, Pralad Jani submitted himself to round-the-clock surveillance for ten days at a hospital in Ahmedabad, the commerical capital of the western state of Gujarat. Doctors who watched him on closed-circuit television were dumbfounded and could not prove that he was a fake. His secret? He claims divine inspiration. |
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