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CDC panel suggests pneumonia vaccine for smokers

A federal health panel has suggested pneumonia vaccine for smokers due to high risk of the disease for them. The recommendations of the panel are likely to be accepted by the CDC.

The vaccination program would include smokers in the age group of 19 to 64.

Statistical data indicates that smokers are about four times more prone to pneumococcal disease than nonsmokers.

According to CDC spokesman Curtis Allen, nearly one-fifth of U.S. adults smoke cigarettes. Allen said.

Singapore September manufacturing output up 2.4 per cent

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Philippine shares slide by 2.12 per cent

Philippine shares slide by 2.12 per centManila - Philippine shares slipped by 2.12 per cent on Friday as investors remained jittery over the continued volatility in the stock markets around the world.

The Philippine Stock Exchange's 30-share composite index shed 42.43 points to close at 1,953.49, from Thursday's finish of 1,995.92.

A total of 847.39 million shares valued at 1.95 billion pesos (39.95 million dollars) were traded.

Losers outpaced gainers, 92 to 23, with 24 issues unchanged.

Self-assembling ''organic wires'' may pave way for bioelectronic applications

Washington, October 24: A research team from The Johns Hopkins University has created water-soluble electronic materials that spontaneously assemble themselves into "wires" much narrower than a human hair.

The researchers say that their work may pave the way for pacemakers that so closely mimic human tissues that a patient''s body cannot discern the difference to devices that bypass injured spinal cords to restore movement to paralysed limbs.

Black women twice more likely to die of breast cancer than whites

According to medical experts black women die of breast cancer more often than white women. But the numbers in Chicago, are especially alarming.  According to the recent statistics by The Chicago Metropolitan Breast Cancer Task Force, African American women in Chicago are more than twice likely to die of breast cancer than the whites.

The breast cancer death rate of African – American women is 116 percent higher than whites, according to data released Wednesday by the Metropolitan Chicago Breast Cancer Task Force.

Novel compound significantly reduces brain lesions in multiple sclerosis

London, October 24: Trials of a new compound called BG-12 have shown that it can reduce the number of new gadolinium enhancing (Gd+) lesions by 69 percent in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS), compared to treatment with placebo.

The oral compound was also found to show a 53 percent reduction in the mean number of T1-hypointense lesions, and a 44 percent reduction in cumulative new Gd+ lesions in patients treated during the trial.

While the presence of Gd+ lesions is thought to indicate continuing inflammatory activity within the central nervous system, T1-hypointense lesions are associated with significant breakdown and loss of brain tissue.

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