Washington, Oct 23: Scientists have selectively and safely managed to remove new and old memories from mice, says a new study.

In the collaborative study, researchers were able to eliminate new and old memories alike by over-expressing a protein, called aCaMKII, critical to brain cell communication just as the memory was recalled.

"While memories are great teachers and obviously crucial for survival and adaptation, selectively removing incapacitating memories, such as traumatic war memories or an unwanted fear, could help many people live better lives," said Dr. Joe Z. Tsien, brain scientist and co-director of the Brain & Behavior Discovery Institute at the Medical College of Georgia School of Medicine.

Washington, Oct 23: Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has said that he would order a surge of US troops - perhaps 15,000 or more - to Afghanistan as soon as he reached the White House.

“We’re confronting an urgent crisis in Afghanistan. It’s time to heed the call ... for more troops. That’s why I’d send at least two or three additional brigades to Afghanistan,” said Obama, the Democratic contender and now clear front-runner to replace George W. Bush.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported a rise in food allergies in American children with four out of every 100 kids affected. The allergies which affect about 3 million children, doubles their risk of asthma and triples their risk of skin or respiratory allergies.

Amy Barnum, MSPH, CDC health statistician said, "It is a significant trend -- food allergies do appear to be continuously increasing over the decade. And if you look at hospital discharges with any diagnosis related to food allergy, there has been a significant increase."

Washington, Oct 23: Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama has gained a nine-point lead over his opponent John McCain.

Less than two weeks before Election Day, Obama leads John McCain 49 percent to 40 percent among likely voters, according to a FOX News poll.

Obama’s advantage comes mainly from independents, and from the fact that more voters identify themselves as Democrats these days and almost all of them back their party’s nominee.

Islamabad  - A suspected US missile strike Thursday killed at least eight people and wounded six others in Pakistan's restive tribal region along the Afghan border, as the country's leaders reiterated that the frontiers would be defended "at all costs."

Two missiles targeted an Islamic seminary, Sirajul Uloom, in Dandai Darpakhel village, located some 3 kilometres from Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan tribal district, at around 
2:30 am (2030 GMT), security officials and residents said.

Washington, Oct 23: Boxers will now be able to assess the fighting ability of their opponents - by just looking at their faces, at least that''s what scientists at University of California suggest.

Scientists at the University of California, Santa Barbara has found that people can determine with uncanny accuracy the fighting ability of men around them by honing in on their upper body strength, by just looking at their faces.

"Assessing fighting ability was important for our ancestors, and the characteristic that the mind implicitly equates with fighting ability is upper body strength," said Aaron Sell, a postdoctoral fellow at UCSB''s Center for Evolutionary Psychology and the paper''s lead author.