One of the phones in the test had such high levels of bacteria that it could have given its owner a serious stomach upset.

The findings from a sample of dozens of phones by Which? magazine suggest 14.7 million of the 63 million mobiles in use in Britain today could be potential health hazards, reports the Daily Mail.

Hygiene expert Jim Francis, who carried out the tests, said: ‘The levels of potentially harmful bacteria on one mobile were off the scale. That phone needs sterilising.’

The most unhygienic phone also had 39 times the safe level of enterobacteria, a group of bacteria that live in the lower intestines of humans and animals and include bugs such as salmonella.

It boasted 170 times the acceptable level of faecal coliforms, which are associated with human waste.

Other bacteria including food poisoning bugs e.coli and staphylococcus aureus were found on the phones but at safe levels.

Which? researcher Ceri Stanaway said: ‘The bugs can end up on your hands which is a breeding ground and be passed back to your phone. They can be transferred back and forth and eventually you could catch something nasty.

‘What this shows is how easy it is to come into contact with bacteria. People see toilet flushes as being something dirty to touch but they have less bacteria than phones.

‘People need to be mindful of that by observing good hygiene themselves and among others who they pass the phone to when looking at photos, for example.’

Which? has previously found that some computer keyboards carry more harmful bacteria than a lavatory seat.
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Researchers Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have found that consumption of at least seven servings per day of fruits and vegetables moderately reduced the risk of developing URTI in expectant mothers.

URTIs include the common cold and sinus infections, which can lead to lower respiratory problems, such as asthma or pneumonia.

Even though the majority of URTIs are uncomplicated colds, identifying ways to prevent their occurrence is important because colds are the most common reason for school and work absences.

Eating fruits and vegetables improves immunity but hadn’t previously been associated with reducing the risk of URTIs in pregnant women.

The researchers studied more than 1,000 pregnant women and found those who ate the most fruits and vegetables were 26 percent less likely to have URTI relative to those who ate the least amount.

Neither fruit nor vegetable intake alone was found to be associated with the five-month risk of URTI.

The patterns observed for total fruit and vegetable intake and either fruit or vegetable intake alone in relation to the three-month risk of URTI were consistent with those when assessing the five-month risk of URTI.

Women in the highest quartile of fruit and vegetable intake had a stronger reduced three-month risk than the five-month risk of URTI. Moreover, there was a significant decreasing linear trend for the three-month risk of URTI with consumption of fruits and vegetables.

Pregnant women have been recommended to consume at least five servings of fruits and vegetables per day. This study showed that intake of higher levels, 6.71 servings per day, was associated with a moderate risk reduction for URTI.

“Pregnant women may require more fruits and vegetables than usual because of the extra demands on the body,” said senior author Martha M. Werler, M.P.H., Sc.D., professor at Slone Epidemiology Center at Boston University.
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A sea snail’s saliva contains chemicals that help the slow-moving creatures catch prey.

These chemicals are injected into passing prey with hypodermic-needle-like teeth that shoot from their mouths like harpoons.

Scientists already have transformed one of these chemicals into a pain-reliever for humans, but it has to be injected directly into the spinal cord, limiting its use.

The upside is that there’s no risk of addiction, according to the experts.

Australian scientists, meanwhile, have developed an oral form of the painkiller that can work in low doses.
[Story Source]

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An American team, which carried out a pioneering study on rabbits, said the results could pave the way for a future where people can grow bone and cartilage inside their own bodies after damaged bones have been removed.

They claimed that the joints will have a full range of movement, be able to bear weight and may even last longer than the current generation of artificial devices.

That would save patients from repeat surgery after their original hip or knee replacement, which usually last 15-20 years, has worn out, they added.

“This is the first time an entire joint surface was regenerated with return of functions including-weight bearing and locomotion,” lead researcher Prof Jeremy Mao of New York’s Columbia University was quoted as saying by the Daily Mail.

For their study, the researchers used a computer to help create artificial frames that were the same size and shape as rabbit hip joints.

These frames were infused with a growth hormone and implanted into ten rabbits after the animals’ hip joints had been removed.

Attracted by the growth hormone, the rabbits’ own stem cells went to the location of the missing joint and regenerated cartilage and bone in two separate layers.

Just three to four weeks after surgery, the rabbits had fully regained movement and could bear weight similar to animals who had never undergone surgery.

The rabbits had grown the joints using their stem cells, instead of relying on an injection of stem cells into their body.

This is the first time scientists have regenerated a complete limb joint using either harvested stem cells or an animal’s own stem cells.

Previously scientists have grown “spare part tissue” in the laboratory from patients’ stem cells for use in repairing diseased organs, including heart valves and bladders.

Professor Mao said: “In patients who need the knee, shoulder, hip or finger joints regenerated, the rabbit model provides a proof of principle.”

But humans could be more challenging as they have only two legs to bear weight, the researchers said, detailing their research in medical journal ‘The Lancet’.

Dr Patrick Warnke from Bond University in Australia, said the research offered a “promising insight” into what might happen in the future for patients.

A person would also be immobile for a considerable period of time while their new joint grows, he said.

Scientists at Leeds University are also developing a similar treatment and said small replacement body parts, such as patches to repair clogged arteries, could be routinely grown by 2015.

But it may take 20-30 years to develop the more advanced techniques.

[Story Source]

This post was submitted by Virendra Kumar yadav.

She asks: “Have you heard of the female condom?” Then, to show how it works, she picks up her demonstration kit — a condom and anatomical models.

It’s a seemingly awkward conversation to have on a city street, but Cotton isn’t embarrassed. She’s part of a citywide effort to promote female condoms in the hope they can help stop the spread of HIV in Washington, which has one of the highest infection rates in the U.S.

Community groups are handing out 500,000 of the female condoms, flexible pouches that are wider than a male condom but similar in length, during instruction sessions at beauty salons, barber shops, churches and restaurants.

Pharmacy chain CVS is selling them in all its Washington, D.C. drugstores, though sales so far are slow. And city officials are starting another promotion: a website and posters on 460 buses, about a third of the city’s fleet.

The ads, which feature a cuddling couple, a female condom package and the words “Get turned on to it,” will run for three months and again in the spring. “The female condom with pleasure points for her and him — to tease, please and protect. Go on, give it a try,” the ad urges.

“Everybody is doing a full-court press,” said Mary Ann Leeper, who heads the introduction of the condom in the U.S. for Female Health Co. of Chicago, the sole manufacturer.
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Japanese women are expected to live longer than 86 years, topping the world longevity ratings for the 25th consecutive year, according to a government report released Monday.

The statistics for 2009 compiled and published by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare showed both Japanese women and men extended their average life expectancy to new records _ 86.44 years for women and 79.59 years for men. Average life spans rose by almost five months for women and nearly four months for men compared to the previous year.

Japanese men, however, saw their average life expectancy slip to fifth from fourth in the world ranking, according to a ministry official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, citing department rules.

Long life is usually good news. But in a country with a low birth rate and declining population, longer life expectancies mean a disproportionately large elderly population. The graying of society is expected to strain government services and pension programs, as well as lead to labor shortages in the near future.

The steady increase in Japan’s longevity largely reflects good medical treatment that reduced the mortality from cancer, cardiac disorders and strokes _ the three main causes of death in Japan _ as well as pneumonia, the ministry official said. Health officials often cite Japan’s relatively healthy diet and high living standards as contributing to growing longevity.

But an increasing number of suicides among elderly men dealt a slight setback for male longevity, he said. Suicide, crime and alcoholism among the elderly have become growing problems because of low income and unstable employment.

Women in Hong Kong came in second in the world’s longevity ranking at 86.1 years. France was third, at 84.5, followed by Switzerland at 84.4 years. Qatar topped the men’s ranking at 81 years, followed by Hong Kong at 79.8 years, with Iceland and Switzerland sharing the third spot at 79.7 years.
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Researchers said these are the symptoms of a certain type of sleep disorder which may be an early signal to developing other neurological disorders many years later.

This is called the rapid eye movement, or REM, sleep behaviour disorder (RBD), a condition in which patients violently act out their dreams during the rapid eye movement cycle of sleep.

The findings, published in the journal ‘Neurology’, added to evidence that certain sleep disorders could be a predictor of brain diseases.

This raised the possibility that doctors could one day be able to provide earlier diagnoses, researchers said.

“Our findings suggest that in some patients, these conditions have a very long span of activity within the brain and they may also have a long period of time where other symptoms aren’t apparent,” said study author Bradley Boeve, from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

For their study, Boeve and his team analysed Mayo Clinic records and identified 27 people suffering from REM sleep disorders for at least 15 years before developing either Parkinson’s, dementia with Lewy bodies or multiple system atrophy — a disorder similar to Parkinson’s.

Thirteen of the patients were diagnosed with dementia, another 13 with Parkinson’s and one with multiple system atrophy.

The time between the start of the sleep disorder and the symptoms of brain disease ranged up to 50 years, with an average span of 25 years, the researchers found.

It was also found that 89 per cent of the patients in the sample were men, although it’s not clear why, as neurological disorders affect both genders, the authors said.

Boeve cautioned that “not everybody that acts out dreams at night has RBD.” They may have another sleep disorder producing similar symptoms, he said.

And it’s unlikely that everyone with RBD will go on to develop Parkinson’s or a kindred disorder, if they live long enough, he added.

Experts, however, said the new findings aren’t enough by themselves to make a difference in patients’ lives.

Ruth Sutherland of the Alzheimer’s Society said: “We don’t yet understand why this correlation exists, and given the small sample size of this study, more research is needed.”

[Story Source]

This post was submitted by HarshitAgarwal.

Researchers Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have found that consumption of at least seven servings per day of fruits and vegetables moderately reduced the risk of developing URTI in expectant mothers.

URTIs include the common cold and sinus infections, which can lead to lower respiratory problems, such as asthma or pneumonia.

Even though the majority of URTIs are uncomplicated colds, identifying ways to prevent their occurrence is important because colds are the most common reason for school and work absences.

Eating fruits and vegetables improves immunity but hadn’t previously been associated with reducing the risk of URTIs in pregnant women.

The researchers studied more than 1,000 pregnant women and found those who ate the most fruits and vegetables were 26 percent less likely to have URTI relative to those who ate the least amount.

Neither fruit nor vegetable intake alone was found to be associated with the five-month risk of URTI.

The patterns observed for total fruit and vegetable intake and either fruit or vegetable intake alone in relation to the three-month risk of URTI were consistent with those when assessing the five-month risk of URTI.

Women in the highest quartile of fruit and vegetable intake had a stronger reduced three-month risk than the five-month risk of URTI. Moreover, there was a significant decreasing linear trend for the three-month risk of URTI with consumption of fruits and vegetables.

Pregnant women have been recommended to consume at least five servings of fruits and vegetables per day. This study showed that intake of higher levels, 6.71 servings per day, was associated with a moderate risk reduction for URTI.

“Pregnant women may require more fruits and vegetables than usual because of the extra demands on the body,” said senior author Martha M. Werler, M.P.H., Sc.D., professor at Slone Epidemiology Center at Boston University.
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Researchers at Stanford University, California, found a molecule, called microRNA, which causes the death of nerve cell in the brain, triggering Parkinson’s disease.

Describing their discovery as a “significant step forward” in the battle against the degenerative disease, the scientists said it would pave the way for new drugs that could block the molecule’s action in its tracks.

Parkinson’s is a progressive neurological condition resulting in tremor, difficulty in moving and loss of balance that’s usually diagnosed after the age of 60, although one in twenty sufferers is fewer than forty.

A person with Parkinson’s will only develop symptoms once around 80 per cent of these cells are lost, so they may have had the condition for some time before problems come to attention, the Telegraph reported.

The researchers, who carried their study on common fruit fly Drosophila, found that the gene variant results in impaired activity of chemicals which fine-tune protein production in cells.

Lead author Prof Bingwei Lu said: “MicroRNA, whose role in the body has only recently begun to be figured out, has been implicated in cancer, cardiac dysfunction and faulty immune response.

“But this is the first time it has been identified as a key player in a neurodegenerative disease.”

The new findings, published in the journal Nature, showed how the mutation trips up normal activity leading to overproduction of at least two proteins that can cause brain cells to die.

Prof Lu and colleagues noticed that laboratory flies with the gene variant had high levels of these proteins after developing brain damage associated with Parkinson’s.

And toning down the levels of these two proteins prevented the death of dopamine nerve cells in the flies.

Prof Lu said: “The flies no longer got symptoms of Parkinson’s. This alone has immediate therapeutic implications.

“Many pharmaceutical companies are already making compounds that act on these two proteins, which in previous studies have been shown to be associated with cancer.

“It may be possible to take these compounds off the shelf or quickly adapt them for use in non-cancer indications such as Parkinson’s.”

Currently available drugs for the disease temporarily alleviate its symptoms but can have undesirable side effects, and they don’t prevent dopamine cells from dying.

Prof Lu said: “The clinical impact of our findings may be five to 10 years down the road. But their impact on our understanding of the disease process is immediate.”

Dr Kieran Breen, director of research at Parkinson’s UK, hailed the new study, saying: “This breakthrough represents a significant step forward towards developing treatments that will actually stop the process of nerve cell death something no current treatments can do.”
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She’s launched the first-ever, Yoga Alliance certified 200-Hour Women’s Yoga Teacher Training to take place in Chiang Mai, Thailand from January 18-February 16, 2011. The course trains teachers in the specific system of yoga that’s best for women’s health and happiness: Yin Yoga, Vinyasa Yoga, Nutrition & Anatomy, Buddhist Meditation, and Philosophy with an emphasis on a feminine approach to practice and life.

Recognizing that 80% of yoga practitioners are female, and a graduate of the all-women’s Barnard College herself, Stover knows first-hand the need for women to be trained to teach and practice yoga not only in a nurturing, supportive environment, but also in a method targeted to enhance women’s health.

“Quite simply, it’s been proven again and again that women learn better in community-specifically an all-women’s community – and while most of the practical teaching skills learned are applicable to both men and women, the experience of training to teach with ONLY women is so profoundly different (and powerful) that you’ll walk away a stronger teacher as a result,” she says.

Stover works with women around the world to balance their femininity and their busy lives to find true happiness and radiance within – beyond their body size, relationships, and careers -through yoga, meditation, and balanced living. She teaches trainings, workshops, and women’s yoga retreats internationally, while also offering online tools like home study kits and tele-seminars.

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