Washington, Feb 17: Traffic-related air pollution affects asthma severity in kids, resulting in repeated hospital encounters, says a new study.

The research has been published in Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, the scientific journal of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI).

To reach the conclusion, Ralph J. Delfino, M. D., Ph. D., from the University of California, Irvine, and colleagues, studied records for 2,768 children from two hospitals in northern Orange County, California.

Washington, February 17: A group of American scientists have set out to determine whether a gene variant may affect the link between migraine and stroke or heart attacks.

Dr. Markus Schurks, of the Division of Preventive Medicine at Brigham and Women''s Hospital in Boston, revealed that the study on 25,000 women look at the genetic variant called the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) D/I polymorphism.

The study's author said that the women answered a questionnaire about their history of migraines and migraines with aura.

London, Feb 17 : Paralytic patients often end up losing control of many facial features, including the movement of eyelids, but now scientists have found the solution to this problem- artificial polymer muscles.

Influenced by the success of bionic limbs, surgeons Craig Senders and Travis Tollefson of the University of California, Davis, have got the idea of using artificial polymer muscles to reanimate the facial features of people suffering from severe paralysis.

"The face is an area where natural-appearing active prosthetics would be particularly welcome," New Scientist magazine quoted them as writing in a recent patent application.

Recent study has revealed the first common gene variants associated with an elevated risk of hypertension. Research team led by Christopher Newton-Cheh of the Massachusetts General Hospital's Center for Human Genetic Research studied the DNA of nearly 30,000 people.

The research team studied variants of two genes for these peptides -- atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) and B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP). Study showed clear relationship between three variants and higher levels of the peptides and, therefore, to lower blood pressure.

The number of children suffering from asthma is increasing continuously. Recent study has shown that pre-natal exposure pollution leads to some genetic changes in children which increase their risk of developing asthma.

Research team led by Dr Shuk-mei Ho, director of the Center for Environmental Genetics at the University of Cincinnati studied umbilical cord blood from 56 children. Study revealed "reprogramming" of a gene associated with exposure to compounds in traffic fumes.

London, Feb 15 : Four out of 10 Brits don't know that eating a poor diet increases the risk of cancer, a new study has revealed.

The study of almost 2,000 people found that 41 percent were unaware of the link between their diet and the disease.

And only one in three people knew processed meat increased cancer risks, while 44 percent did not know being overweight was another risk factor.

But 42 per cent of those questioned knew that not taking enough exercise or being physically active increased their risk of cancer.