Washington, Apr 22 : The traditional risk factors for melanoma may not be as helpful in predicting risk in all people as previously thought, claims a new study.

The research has been presented at the American Association for Cancer Research 100th Annual Meeting 2009.

London, Apr 22 : Pregnant women who drink alcohol weaken the bond with their child, claim researchers.

What’s more, expectant mothers who drink take longer to recover after the birth, the study found.

The research, carried out by PhD student Eilidh Duncan at Aberdeen''s Robert Gordon University, looked at 130 first-time mothers with varying levels of alcohol intake, reports The Telegraph.

After births, Duncan reviewed issues like delivery type, length of hospital stay, pregnancy and labour complications, maternal attachment and post-natal drinking habits.

Washington, Apr 22 : A new study from University of Nottingham has revealed that louse infestation can dampen mammalian immune reactions.

The finding means that the epidemic of allergic disorders in modern, urban people might be due to our having rid ourselves of lice and worms.

As per "hygiene hypothesis" humans'' immune systems evolved to compensate for continual infections with parasitic gut worms, which secrete chemicals that reduce our immune responses.

Washington, Apr 22 : School-going kids, who witness violence in urban communities, display post-traumatic stress symptoms, a new study has found.

The researchers also found that these children suffer physiological effects with a disruption to their normal cortisol production pattern during the day, which may have long-term negative effects on their health.

Sydney, Apr 22 : Exposure to cigarette smoke induces abnormalities in babies'' brains, thus putting them at increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome, say Australian researchers.

To reach the conclusion, researchers from University of Sydney analysed the brain tissue of babies who had undergone an autopsy at Sydney''s Glebe morgue.

After analysing, they found exposure to any second-hand smoke could precipitate these brain cell changes, and not just exposure in utero by maternal smoking.

London, Apr 22 : A fertility doctor has claimed to have cloned 14 human embryos and transferred them to four women prepared to give birth to cloned babies.

Panayiotis Zavos broke the sacred taboo of human individuality by doing the cloning act.

The cloning was recorded by an independent documentary film-maker who has testified to The Independent that the cloning had taken place.

Apparently, the breakthrough work was carried out at a secret lab-oratory, probably located in the Middle East where there is no cloning ban.