Washington, Mar 25 : Women who consumed high amounts of soy during childhood may have a lower risk of developing breast cancer, says a new study on Asian-American females.

The study has been published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Washington, Mar 25 : South Asians with type 2 diabetes are more likely to lose their eyesight at an earlier age compared to White Europeans with the same condition, according to a new study.

The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Warwick has shown that diabetic retinopathy (damage to the retina) is more prevalent in South Asians and occurs earlier than in White European people with diabetes.

Washington, Mar 25 : In recognition of World TB Day, the World Health Organization (WHO) has released new figures to show that co-infection of TB among HIV patients is nearly twice as big as previously thought.

In 2007, there were at least 1.37 million cases of HIV-positive TB - or nearly 15 percent of the total incident cases. That figure doubles that of the previous estimates, WHO said.

Hong Kong - Australian visitors were warned Wednesday about Hong Kong's poor air quality in a travel alert issued by the Canberra government.

The alert warned that levels of air pollution "may aggravate bronchial, sinus or asthma conditions" and says people with heart or respiratory illnesses should take precautions.

It urges visitors with pre-existing conditions to reduce physical activity and outdoor activity on days when air pollution readings are high in the densely populated high-rise city of 7 million.

Singapore - Singapore's parliament passed controversial legislation which allows reimbursement of living organ donors, media reports said Wednesday.

After a heated two-day debate, in which some legislators raised concerns that the new law might lead to open organ trading, four of the 84 members of parliament abstained the final vote and one voted against, the Straits Times newspaper reported.

Eighty-two legislators in Singapore's parliament are from the People's Action Party, which has ruled the city-state since independence in 1965.