Washington, Mar 31 : Expecting mothers could reduce the risk of complications in their pregnancies and new-born babies by paying closer attention to oral hygiene, scientist have suggested.

Bacteria from a mother''s mouth can be transmitted through the blood and amniotic fluid in the womb to her unborn child.

This could contribute to the risk of a premature delivery, a low birth-weight baby, premature onset of contractions, or infection of the newborn child.

Washington, Mar 31 : People with multiple sclerosis may be at a lower risk for cancer overall, but at a higher risk of developing certain types of cancer, such as brain tumours and bladder cancer, says a new study.

For the study, Shahram Bahmanyar, MD, PhD, of the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, and colleagues looked at the medical records of 20,000 people with multiple sclerosis and 204,000 people without the diagnosis.

Washington, Mar 31: A new study has delved into the emerging practice of drug delivery systems that use light to activate medications in the body.

The new process makes use of biocompatible materials that are sensitive to certain physiological variables or external physicochemical stimuli.

It is possible to control the delivery by using the changes in external or internal body conditions.

Already, there exist drug delivery systems that can respond to small changes in light, temperature, pH or the concentration of specific substances.

London, March 31: Scientists based in America and Britain have found that just one greenhouse can produce a million doses of virus-blocking chemical, giving new hope that one day an anti-HIV protein may be derived from plants.

A research article on this finding suggests that a protein produced in Nicotiana benthamiana — a member of the tobacco family — could be the basis of a new HIV microbicide.

Washington, Mar 31: Medical College of Georgia researchers have found a link between schizophrenia and type 2 diabetes.

In a study of 50 people newly-diagnosed with schizophrenia or a related psychotic disorder with no other known risk factors, Dr. Brian Kirkpatrick, vice chair of the MCG Department of Psychiatry and Health Behavior, found that 16 percent had either diabetes or an abnormal rate of glucose metabolism.

In a similar size control group of people without schizophrenia, none had signs of or had developed the disease.

Washington, Mar 31 : Regular handwashing by hospital staff and visitors could be more effective at controlling the spread of the hospital superbug MRSA than isolating infected patients, according to a new study.

Dr Peter Wilson from University College Hospital, London, conducted a year-long study in two hospital intensive care units.

In the middle six months of the year patients with MRSA were not moved to single rooms or nursed in separate MRSA bays.

The rates of cross infection with MRSA were compared to the periods when patients were moved.