Health News

Liquorice may help beat bowel cancer

Liquorice may help beat bowel cancerLondon, Mar 30 : Liquorice, a confectionery flavoured with the extract of the roots of the liquorice plant, may help prevent bowel cancer, a new study has found.

Bowel cancer is the third most common type after breast and lung cancers.

In the study, which was carried out by researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Centre in Nashville, Tennessee, scientists targeted an enzyme that is thought to play a crucial role in bowel cancer growth.

Gene that suppresses skin cancer growth identified

Gene that suppresses skin cancer growth identifiedLondon, March 30 : Scientists at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the U. S. have announced the discovery of a gene that suppresses tumour growth in melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer.

The finding was made as part of a systematic genetic analysis of a group of enzymes implicated in skin cancer, and many other types of cancer.

According to the analysis, one-quarter of human skin cancer tumours had mutations in genes that code for matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) enzymes.

Cartoons may help diagnose autism

AutismLondon, Mar 30: Watching how a tot reacts to cartoons could help spot autism, according to a new research.

It is already known that individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) tend to stare at people''s mouths rather than their eyes. Now, the new study of 2-year-olds with the social deficit disorder has suggested why they might find mouths so attractive: lip-sync-the exact match of lip motion and speech sound.

Three methods of alleviating hay fever

Hay FeverBerlin - Vaccinations can alleviate the symptoms of hay fever when conventional methods such as nasal sprays, eye drops and antihistamines fail, according to Germany's Berlin-based Professional Association of Dermatologists.

This form of treatment is called immunotherapy and should be initiated weeks in advance of pollination.

Those who are allergic to the pollen of the hazel and alder trees which blossom in early spring should begin a course of immunotherapy in autumn.

For grass allergies, on the other hand, there is still time to begin a course this year as pollination in the northern hemisphere begins in May.

Singapore to consider raising foreign workers' health insurance

Singapore to consider raising foreign workers' health insurance Singapore  - Singapore is considering a health insurance increase for foreign workers following the recent hospitalization of some workers whose medical bills had more than doubled the coverage, it was reported Monday.

Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan said he was considering increasing the foreign workers' insurance coverage, citing a case of a Filipino maid whose medical expenses rose to 20,000 Singapore dollars, or four times the maximum.

Researchers blame genetics for sudden cardiac arrest in athletes

Researchers blame genetics for sudden cardiac arrest in athletesHamburg, Germany  - A team of German scientists say they have found a genetic cause for mysterious sudden deaths of perfectly healthy athletes who collapse and die of cardiac arrest.

German researchers at Heidelberg University Hospital claim to have discovered a seemingly insignificant genetic modification that may in fact spawn a potentially, fatal cardiac condition.

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