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Penn Jillette, a renowned magician, has dropped 105 pounds that is one-third of his body weight in just 4 months.

Jillette, in December 2014, had a major wakeup call when he was taken to the hospital due to high blood pressure. Since then he decided to reduce his weight for long term health benefits. Over the months, Jillette has been revamping his entire lifestyle and diet.

Jillette would have easily said 'Abracadabra' and let his medication improve his blood pressure, but the Wizard Wars judge took his doctor's advice to heart.

On April 8, Jillette revealed that his doctor has told him to get his weight down, and that it would be a little easier to control if he brought his weight down by 30 or 40 lbs.

Sodas causes one to gain weight, said the advocacy group US Right to Know after looking into results of a research on artificially sweetened products. The group has urged federal regulators to see if manufacturers including Coca-Cola and PepsiCo are doing false or misleading advertising.

The research has showed that diet soft drinks and other artificially sweetened products are related to weight gain.

Citizen petitions were filed by the group on Thursday to force US Food and Drug Administration and the Federal Trade Commission to stop those companies from doing branding of artificially sweetened products with the word 'diet'.

Chicago area is witnessing a canine influenza outbreak. State animal health officials are warning people to avoid the area, especially with dogs.

Around a decade back, the influenza was identified and is considered extremely contagious. Dogs are considered to have no immunity to the disease. The condition, having an incubation period of around a week, causes a dry, hacking cough.

Animal can cough up white, foamy phlegm and could also suffer from vomiting, lethargy, a runny nose, fast breathing and lack of appetite. These symptoms can continue for up to three weeks. Though majority of animals recover, older dogs and the ones having weaker immune systems can develop pneumonia and the condition can prove dangerous.

Dr. Theodore Andreadis, head of The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, shared that an untreatable tick-borne disease is emerging in some parts of southern Connecticut.

Andreadis shared that the Powassan virus has the symptoms similar to Lyme disease. Its symptoms include headache, nausea and fever. He affirmed if Powassan virus is contracted, there is no treatment for the condition and the disease sometimes can prove fatal.

For now, there have been no reported cases of human illnesses. But Andreadis has warned that people who go into wooded areas may contract the virus.

A new study has found that median bill for a private room in a nursing home could cost about $91,250 a year. It means that the steep cost of caring for elderly continues to climb. An annual report, Cost of Care, from Genworth Financial figured out the rise in cost for long-term care.

As per the report, the cost of staying at a nursing home for a long time has increased about 4% every year over the last half decade. Today, the cost of a private room in a nursing home costs about $91,250 a year, while last year, it was $87,600.

A team of scientists at Rockefeller University in New York has found an alternative treatment for HIV. According to the research team, the treatment could be a promising weapon in the battle against HIV infection. Their study published in the Journal Nature has revealed that mixture of extensively neutralizing antibodies could suppress the measure of HIV in blood.

This sort of HIV treatment uses clones of immune proteins taken from an uncommon person who has natural control of the sickness. Researchers believe that with further work, this could strengthen present medications.

Researchers recommend utilizing this treatment along with the current drugs or with different antibiotics.