Hanoi - Vietnamese authorities believe a woman who died last week may have been infected with avian influenza, state media said Monday.

The state-run newspaper Vietnam News reported the 26-year-old woman was admitted to a hospital in Soc Trang Province, in the country's Mekong Delta, on March 16 with symptoms of headache, high fever and respiratory difficulties.

Her condition worsened and she died on Friday.

The head of the community health centre where the patient was initially treated reportedly said she had eaten a sick duck about a month ago.

Washington, Mar 22 : A new study has discovered that if olive oil has been sitting on the shelf for six months, it can lose up to 40 percent of its health benefits.

The research was carried out an analysis on several varieties of extra-virgin olive oil produced from groves in the Italian countryside at production and during storage.

It was discovered that after three months of storage, the antioxidant activity in the oils remained unchanged, but antioxidants decreased by about 40 percent for almost all of the oils after six months.

Washington, Mar 22 : A new study from Creighton University of Omaha has revealed that chronic marijuana abuse is linked to a severe vomiting sickness.

Lead researcher Dr. Sontineni said that doctors and health care workers currently under recognize the syndrome leading to delayed diagnosis and expensive diagnostic investigations.

With the increasing consistent use of marijuana, particularly young people, over several years might give rise to the number of cases diagnosed each year.

Washington, Mar 22 : A new study has revealed that cancer patients who are malnourished experience significantly greater levels of psychological distress than those who are more adequately nourished.

For the study, Dr Shafia Amdouni, from the Cancer Nutrition Rehabilitation Program at Canada''s McGill University Health Center, and colleagues set out to examine the relationship between malnutrition and psychological distress in patients who were taking part in a cancer nutrition rehabilitation program.

They looked at 213 patients with advanced cancer, asking them to assess their own nutrition status and their distress.

London, Mar 22 : Taking a special vitamin supplement during pregnancy can keep hydrocephalus, one of the most common birth brain defects, at bay, claim researchers.

According to scientists, who conducted tests on rats to reach the conclusion, results have shown a combination of folates dramatically reduces the rates of hydrocephalus - in which fluids build up in the brain''s chambers.

However, it's too early to say anything further, say researchers in the Journal of Neuropathology and Experimental Neurology.

Washington, March 22 : Newborn infants, born either at term or prematurely, lack a DNA net, called a neutrophil extracellular trap (NET), cast by mature white blood cells to fight severe infection,