Washington, Mar 20 : Low-to-moderate drinking and socialization is beneficial for cardiovascular heath, according to a new study.

A Japanese examination of the effects of social support on the relationship between drinking and cardiovascular disease has found that the health benefits of light-to-moderate drinking are more pronounced in men with greater social support.

Washington, Mar 20 : A new study has shown that low and moderate but not high doses of alcohol trigger `feel good' brain chemicals called beta-endorphins.

Beta-endorphin release produces a general feeling of well-being that reinforces the desire to drink.

Washington, Mar 20 : Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine have developed a simple onsite technique to quickly diagnose tuberculosis (TB)- injecting strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis with fluorescent-green protein.

The new technique can expose the deadly drug-resistant strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis that can mingle undetected with treatable strains.

Thus, the researchers engineered bacteriophages-tiny viruses that attack bacteria-to inject TB bacteria with a glowing, fluorescent-green protein.

Hanoi - A 3-year-old Vietnamese boy has died of avian influenza after four days in hospital, a health official said Friday, bringing Vietnam's bird-flu death toll to three this year.

Nguyen Van Chau, director of the Ho Chi Minh City Health Department, said the boy from the south-western province of Dong Thap died Thursday. He had been admitted Monday at the Ho Chi Minh City Hospital for Tropical Diseases with high fever and respiratory difficulties.

Washington, Mar 20 : Revolutionary new drugs that could stop Alzheimer''s disease in its tracks are being tested by scientists.

Professor Simon Lovestone, of the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College London, told the annual meeting of the Alzheimer's Research Trust that the drugs are undergoing clinical trials.

Current treatment can help only to reduce symptoms but cannot prevent the disease from destroying brain cells.

The results from trials of up to 11 new medicines should be known within one to three years.

Washington, Mar 20 : Scientists have moved a step closer to developing a drug that could actually stop the progress of Alzheimer''s disease.

They have identified a molecule that can form the basis for a new therapy for the neurodegenerative disease.

A typical characteristic of the brains of Alzheimer''s patients is the presence of amyloid plaques, which are abnormal accumulations of the c¬-amyloid protein between the neurons. The sticky c¬-amyloid arises when the amyloid precursor protein is cut into pieces incorrectly.