Health News

Gene that turns carbs into fat identified

FatWashington, Mar 20 : A team of American researchers has identified a gene that plays a critical regulatory role in the process of converting dietary carbohydrates to fat.

In a new study, researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, disabled this gene in mice, which consequently had lower levels of body fat than their normal counterparts, despite being fed the equivalent of an all-you-can-eat pasta buffet.

Human brains live on the ‘edge of chaos’

BrainWashington, Mar 20 : A new study from University of Cambridge has provided new evidence that the human brain lives "on the edge of chaos", at a critical transition point between randomness and order.

The researchers claim to have identified a mechanism called self-organized criticality, where systems spontaneously organize themselves to operate at a critical point between order and randomness.

This phenomenon might occur from complex interactions in many different physical systems, including avalanches, forest fires, earthquakes, and heartbeat rhythms.

Low to moderate drinking, socialization good for your heart

Low to moderate drinking, socialization good for your heartWashington, 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.

Low to moderate, not heavy, drinking triggers ‘feel good’ brain chemicals

Low to moderate, not heavy, drinking triggers ‘feel good’ brain chemicalsWashington, 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.

Quick, simple fluorescent detector for TB created

Quick, simple fluorescent detector for TB createdWashington, 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.

3-year-old in Vietnam dies of bird flu

3-year-old in Vietnam dies of bird fluHanoi - 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.

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