Washington, March 14: Doctors at Instituto Medico La Floresta in Caracas, Venezuela, have successfully performed the world’s first live human transvaginal nephrectomy using the Tri-port multi-channel port supplied by Advanced Surgical Concepts Ltd.

Washington, Mar 13 : Researchers at the University of Maastricht, The Netherlands, have shed light on the roots of dyslexia, a learning disability that affects four to ten percent of the population.

The findings support the notion that the reading and spelling deficit, characterized by an inability to break words down into the separate sounds that comprise them, stems in part from a failure to properly integrate letters with their speech sounds.

Washington, Mar 13 : Lack of vitamin D is not only bad for the bones, it may also lead to fatter adolescents, according to a new study.

The study of more than 650 teens age 14-19 has found that those who reported higher vitamin D intakes had lower overall body fat and lower amounts of the fat in the abdomen, a type of fat known as visceral fat, which has been associated with health risks such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes and hypertension.

Washington, Mar 13 : Certain gene variations in some women may protect them against cervical cancer, according to scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University.

The researchers say that if the presence or absence of such genetic variants is known, doctors can easily tailor treatment strategies.

Virtually all cases of cervical cancer are caused by persistent infections from several of the human papillomaviruses (HPV) - a family of viruses that also cause common skin warts and genital warts.

Washington, Mar 13 : Giving up smoking before surgery can almost half the risk of post-op complications, says a new study.

"Smokers are prone to developing a number of complications after surgery, ranging from impaired wound and bone healing to life-threatening pulmonary and cardiovascular problems" said Dr Omid Sadr Azodi from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden.

"This is why it is so important to find feasible, financially attractive and effective ways to help patients stop smoking before surgery," the expert added.

During the study, the researchers randomly assigned 117 patients who were due to undergo general or orthopaedic surgery to an intervention and control group.

Washington, Mar 13 : Researchers from University of Alberta have identified certain genes responsible for spinal disc degeneration.

Michele Crites-Battie and Tapio Videman, in the Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine, have discovered eight genes linked to lumbar disc degeneration.

"We found more genes associated with disc degeneration than was discovered in 30 prior studies. This is very exciting," said Videman.