Washington, March 3 : Having trouble making your preschooler finish his veggies? Well, trying naming peas `Power Peas' and see the magic unfold.

According to a new study, labelling vegetables with catchy names, such as X-Ray Vision Carrots and Tomato Bursts, leave preschoolers wanting for more.

As per lead author Brian Wansink, writer of "Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Eat More Than We Think", tots ended up eating more vegetables once a little fun was added to the names.

The Cornell University research examined 186 four-year olds, who were provided with carrots titled "X-ray Vision Carrots", and found that they ate almost twice as much as on the lunch days that carried simply titled "carrots".

Washington, Mar 3 : University of Michigan researchers have identified a gene called ATDC that is overexpressed in 90 percent of pancreatic cancers.

The expression of the gene called, Ataxia Telangiectasia Group D Complementing gene (ATDC), is 20 times higher in pancreatic cancer cells than in cells from a normal pancreas.

This gene also makes cancer resistant to chemotherapy. It is most highly expressed at the point when pre-cancerous cells become malignant.

ATDC was also linked to increased levels of a signalling protein called beta-catenin, which is known to play a key role in cancer development.

Washington, Mar 3: A new study has shed light on a question that has perplexed women for generations - why they store fat more efficiently than men.

It has long been suspected that female sex hormones are responsible for their ability to store fat more efficiently than men, despite eating proportionally fewer calories.

Now, a University of New South Wales (UNSW) research review has for the first time drawn a link between one hormone - oestrogen - and its impact on fat storage for childbearing.

On an average, women have 6 to 11 percent more body fat than men.

Previous studies have shown that oestrogen reduces a woman''s ability to burn energy after eating, resulting in more fat being stored around the body.

Washington, Mar 3 : In an international trial conducted in eight countries, including India, has shown that using biphasic BIAsp 30 insulin can lead to significant clinical improvements and greater patient satisfaction.

The study conducted on 52,000 patients found that 53 per cent achieved a blood glucose (HbA1c) level of less than seven per cent, which was equivalent to the target set by the International Diabetes Foundation.

The IMPROVE study was based on the largest database of Type II Diabetes patients ever compiled, and in the first phase it covered eight countries: Canada, China, Greece, India, Italy, Japan, Poland and Russia.

Washington, Mar 3 : Expectant mothers should have well-planned vegetarian and vegan diets for healthful pregnancies, say experts.

According to the American Dietetic Association, "well-planned vegan and other types of vegetarian diets are appropriate for all stages of the life cycle, including during pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, and adolescence."

While vitamin B12 deficiency may increase the risk for neural tube defects, experts from Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) suggest that requirements can be met with fortified foods or any common multivitamin.

Washington, March 3: Scientists at the University at Buffalo and the University of Trieste, Italy, say that Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), which causes mononucleosis, may also be linked with the progression of multiple sclerosis, an incurable autoimmune disease that can cause major disability.

The researchers say that, in studies they have conducted, EBV appears to play a key role in the neurodegeneration that occurs in persons with multiple sclerosis.