Washington, Apr 17: People who have easy access to stores, transit stops and sidewalks are two times more likely to be physically active than those without these amenities, says a new study.

The study led by San Diego State University has shown that access to sidewalks is the most important factor for physical activity, possibly because people use them for recreation like jogging and in-line skating as well as for transportation.

"Our study had a great deal of variation in neighborhoods," said lead author Dr James Sallis, a professor at the San Diego State University.

London, Apr 17 : Pregnant women could strengthen their babies'' lungs and nervous system by exercising, new research suggests.

American researchers conducted a small study into the impact of exercise and found potential benefits for unborn babies.

According to scientists, exercise may also help prevent cot death.

Dr Linda May, an assistant professor of anatomy at Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences, said her study had yielded "exciting" results.

Washington, April 17 : Stanford University researchers claim that they have identified a specific group of cells that can be direct targets of deep brain stimulation (DBS), a Parkinson''s treatment.

Lead researcher Karl Deisseroth attributes this advance to a technique to systematically characterize disease circuits in the brain.

The researcher says that the NSF-funded technology, termed optogenetics, enabled them to precisely control individual components of the circuit implicated in Parkinson''s disease.

Washington, April 17: Immigrant mothers are less likely to take folic acid supplements before pregnancy to prevent birth defects, a new study has found.

The study, led by a St. Michael''s Hospital physician in collaboration with Statistics Canada, Health Canada and the University of Toronto, is important because such women may be at higher risk of having babies with birth defects.

This study is the first to provide national estimates of pre-pregnancy folic acid use in Canada.

Washington, April 17 : A research team including an Indian-origin boffin has found that coffee may be beneficial for men with Lou Gehrig''s disease (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) but for women, it may have the opposite effect.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal disease that damages key neurons in the brain and spinal cord. The disease causes progressive paralysis of voluntary muscles and often death within five years of symptoms.

Washington, Apr 17 : Laughter is indeed the best form of medicine - because it is good for the heart, says a new study.

In the research, "mirthful laughter" was linked to lower cholesterol and less risk of cardiovascular disease.

Lee Berk, a psychoneuroimmunologist, of Loma Linda University, and Dr. Stanley Tan, an endocrinologist and diabetes specialist at Oak Crest Health Research Institute in Loma Linda, examined the effects of mirthful laughter on 20 high-risk diabetic patients with hypertension and hyperlipidemia - an elevation of lipids in the bloodstream.