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Authorities have informed that moving a Chinese coal freighter that has run aground on Australia's Great Barrier Reef could take several weeks and risk sending hundreds of tons of oil onto the reef.

Officials said that the Shen Neng 1, laden with 65,000 tons of coal and 975 tons of heavy fuel oil, was traveling off course nine miles outside its authorized shipping lane at full speed when it slammed into the reef on Saturday.

Approval of the first absorbable fibrin sealant patch for use during cardiovascular surgery was announced on Monday by U. S. Food and Drug Administration.

The TachoSIl blood-clotting patch, which is eventually absorbed by the body, is used to prevent mild and moderate bleeding from small blood vessels when other standard surgical techniques are ineffective or impractical, the FDA said.

A U. S. researcher has said that simple things like starting a walking program for teens or giving them pedometers can enhance teen health.

One study showed a drop in blood pressure of students in high-school-based walking program after 16 weeks compared with non-participating students, says Dr. Vernon Barnes, a physiologist at the Medical College of Georgia's Georgia Prevention Institute.

U. S. marshals have seized a range of misbranded over-the-counter products, including gum, shampoos and creams, says the Food and Drug Administration.

A Wednesday raid by marshals occurred at Beehive Botanicals Inc. in Haywood, Wis., FDA officials informed.

The marshals confiscated creams, capsules, tablets, throat spray and several other products that the FDA alleges are unapproved new drugs in violation of federal law, officials further said.

A U. S. survey has indicated that lessons learned to help prevent the spread of H1N1 -- like sneezing into an elbow -- may become habits.

95 percent say they took proactive steps to combat cold and flu, while 5 percent say they did nothing or would "wait it out," a national survey of more than U. S. 1,000 adult men and women, by Matrixx Initiatives, Inc., the maker of Zicam, has indicated. The survey also found that eighty percent say they sneeze and cough into their elbow.

There are five things the owners of a puppy should keep in mind to raise a healthy dog, including nutrition and exercise, a U. S. veterinarian has said.

To nourish the puppy's developing brain, its food should be supplemented with DHA, an omega-3 fatty acid essential to developing nervous tissue and visual function in dogs, says Dr. Al Townshend, staff veterinarian of Holistic Select, a line of food and snacks for dogs and cats.