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Melbourne, Oct 1 : A new study has revealed that mums with allergies, who regularly breastfeed their infants, are likely to increase their babies’ chances of developing asthma or eczema later in life.

Though studies have shown that breast-feeding protects babies form allergies at later stage, the new study found it offered no protection from skin reactions among children without a family history of allergies.

London, October 1 : Singapore-based scientists have devised a new technique to spot bird flu in humans with the help of a magnet.

Jurgen Pipper of the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology claims that their test is nearly five times faster and up to 50 times cheaper than the existing tests.

The researcher says that one of the hindrances that scientists often face, while testing the virus in human sputum, is that the sputum sample has to be concentrated before its RNA can be amplified and compared with known H5N1 sequences, reports the New Scientist.

Washington, October 1 : A team of researchers at IRB Barcelona have identified two special surface receptors that prevent the spread of colon cancer.

Eduard Batlle, ICREA researcher and head of IRB Barcelona’s Oncology Programme, says that the benign tumour cells called adenomas—the formation of which is the first step in the development of colon cancer—have special surface receptors called EphB2 and EphB3, which detect the presence of certain ligands in the healthy tissue that surround them.

Washington, October 1 : Johns Hopkins researchers say that a popular prostate cancer treatment called androgen deprivation therapy may encourage prostate cancer cells to produce a protein that makes them more likely to spread throughout the body.

Washington, Oct 1 : Researchers at IBM, UK, have developed a software that converts spoken words into sign language and engages an avatar to communicate using gestures.

Its developers say the onscreen translator, named “Say It Sign It”, could work as a pop-up on a television, personal computer, mobile phone or auditorium screen, giving the hearing impaired wider access to television, radio and education.