home
> current health news > health
news archive: Nov-Dec 2005
Health & longevity news archive: November-December 2005
Vitamin D 'can lower cancer risk'
(Dec 28, 2005)
High doses of vitamin D can reduce the risk of developing some
common cancers by as much as 50%, US scientists claim. Researchers
reviewed 63 old studies and found that the vitamin could reduce
the chances of developing breast, ovarian and colon cancer, and
others. Experts said more research was needed to draw firm conclusions.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Double X-rays give 'speedy scan'
(Dec 22, 2005)
A hi-tech scanner has been developed which takes images in less
time than it takes the human heart to beat. The Somatom Definition
machine contains two X-ray scanners so full body images can be
taken twice as fast. Manufacturer Siemens said the scanner, which
will be available in the UK next autumn, is ideal for diagnosing
heart problems because of its speed. Scanning experts said such
technology might reduce the need for more invasive diagnostic
techniques.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Chocolate may cut heart disease
(Dec 20, 2005)
Researchers have produced more evidence that dark chocolate may
help to reduce the risk of serious heart disease. They found eating
a few squares a day may stave off artery narrowing and hardening
in smokers by countering the disruption caused by their habit.
Smoking compromises the activity of both endothelial cells, which
line the artery walls, and platelets, which are involved in blood
clot formation. The research, by University Hospital, Zurich,
is published in Heart.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
The secret of 'muscular' old age
(Dec 12, 2005)
Scientists believe they have found a way to enable the elderly
to maintain muscle. Muscle is constantly being built and broken
down, which works to maintain a balance in young adults. But as
people age, the breakdown process is more successful than the
muscle-building action. However French researchers, writing in
the Journal of Physiology, say adding the amino acid leucine to
old people's diets could help them keep muscle.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Stress 'hinders healing process'
(Dec 6, 2005)
The stress caused by a 30-minute row with a spouse is enough to
slow wound healing by a day, US researchers say. The Ohio State
University team focused on 42 married couples and found wounds
on hostile couples healed at 60% of the healing rate for non-hostile
couples. The team told the journal Archives of General Psychiatry
the findings showed hospitals should try to minimise stress for
patients ahead of surgery. This could lead to shorter hospital
stays and save money, they added.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Woman has first face transplant
(Dec 1, 2005)
Surgeons in France have carried out the first face transplant,
it has been reported. The woman had lost her nose, lips and chin
after being savaged by a dog. In the controversial operation,
tissues, muscles, arteries and veins were taken from a brain-dead
donor and attached to the patient's lower face. Doctors stress
the woman will not look like her donor, but nor will she look
like she did before the attack - instead she will have a "hybrid"
face.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Olive oil's heart effect located
(Nov 28, 2005)
Scientists say they have pinpointed the micronutrients in olive
oil that make it a good heart protector. Mediterranean diets have
long been hailed as cutting heart attack risk. A team of Spanish
researchers believes this is partly down to compounds called phenols
that have anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and clot-preventing powers.
Virgin or extra virgin olive oils are best because they have the
highest phenol content, the Journal of the American College of
Cardiology reports.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Dolphin therapy fights depression
(Nov 25, 2005)
Swimming with dolphins appears to help alleviate mild to moderate
depression, researchers have found. A University of Leicester
team tested the effect of regular swimming sessions with dolphins
on 15 depressed people in a study carried out in Honduras. They
found that symptoms improved more among this group than among
another 15 who swam in the same area – but did not interact
with dolphins.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
How singing unlocks the brain
(Nov 20, 2005)
As Bill Bundock's Alzheimer's progressed he became more and more
locked into his own world. He withdrew into himself and stopped
communicating with his wife, Jean. Jean said Bill lost his motivation,
and his desire and ability to hold conversations, but all this
changed when the couple started attending a local sing-song group,
aimed especially for people with dementia. Jean said Singing for
the Brain had unlocked Bill's communication block.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Geneticists claim ageing breakthrough but
immortality will have to wait
(Nov 18, 2005)
A genetic experiment to unlock the secrets of the ageing process
has created organisms that live six times their usual lifespan,
raising hopes that it might be possible to slow ageing in humans.
The geneticists behind the study say the increase in lifespan
is so striking, they may have tapped into one of the most fundamental
mechanisms that controls the rate at which living creatures age.
The tests were carried out in single-celled organisms, forcing
them into what the researchers refer to as an "extreme survival
mode".
Read
more. Source: Guardian |
Blood vessels grown from patient's skin
(Nov 16, 2005)
The first clinical trial to implant blood vessels grown entirely
from a patient's own cells was declared a success yesterday by
a team of American scientists. Two patients have so far received
transplant blood vessels that were grown in a dish from a clump
of their own skin cells. In both cases, the patients were said
to be progressing well after their operations and the blood vessels
were performing "perfectly".
Read
more. Source: Guardian |
Mysterious case of the man who claims to
have beaten HIV by taking vitamins
(Nov 14, 2005)
A man who claims to be the first in the world whose immune system
has been able to beat the HIV virus was facing mounting pressure
yesterday to submit to further vital medical tests. Health experts,
Aids campaigners and gay rights activists urged Andrew Stimpson
to come forward following claims that he has been able to rid
his body of the virus after taking little more than vitamins.
Activists say that if the claims are true, the phenomenon could
potentially bring countless benefits to millions of people infected
with HIV.
Read
more. Source: Guardian |
Loneliness could be in your genes
(Nov 13, 2005)
Loneliness may run in the family, researchers have suggested.
Teams from the Free University in Amsterdam and the University
of Chicago looked at data on 8,000 identical, and non-identical,
twins. They found genetics had a significant influence on loneliness.
The researchers, whose study appears in Behavior Genetics, said
it showed helping lonely people was not simply a matter of changing
their environment.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Women get a bigger buzz from cartoons
(Nov 9, 2005)
Women get more of a buzz out of cartoons, a brain-imaging study
has found, with their brains feeling more rewarded by a funny
joke than those of men. Women and men are often perceived as having
differences in their senses of humour but, until now, there had
been no neurological evidence for such suspicions. The new brain
scanning study showed that although men and women tended to agree
on which of the single-panel cartoons they were shown were funny,
they processed the humour differently in their brains.
Read
more. Source: New Scientist |
'Hormonal' women most attractive
(Nov 3, 2005)
Women with high levels of the sex hormone oestrogen have prettier
faces, research suggests. The findings make evolutionary sense
- men are attracted to the most fertile women, the University
of St Andrews team told a Royal Society journal. Oestrogen levels
during puberty can impact on appearance by affecting bone growth
and skin texture, they said. But make-up masks this effect, allowing
less attractive women to compensate for their lack of natural
mating cues.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
BACK TO TOP
|
You
are here:
Home
> Health news
> Health news archive
Nov-Dec 2005
Other news sections
Latest science news
Archeo news
Eco news
Living world news
Paleo news
Robot diaries
Strange news
Tech news
Also on this site:
Encyclopedia of Science
Encyclopedia of Alternative
Energy and Sustainable Living
News archive
Bookshop
Contact
|
