Washington, Mar 3 : A new research has challenged a popular belief after claiming that alcohol abuse leads to depression, and not the other way round.

Using data gathered from a 25-year study of health and development in New Zealand, David M. Fergusson, Ph. D., and colleagues at the Christchurch School of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Otago, Christchurch, New Zealand, examined the associations between alcohol abuse and depression.

A sample of 1,055 participants born in 1977 were assessed for both conditions at ages 17 to 18, 20 to 21 and 24 to 25 years and also asked questions about lifestyle and demographic factors.

Despite stringent norms laid down for the disposal of biomedical waste by the state government, it can be found in abundance lying at the premises of SSG hospital, Vadodara. One can find used bandages, cotton, and medical gloves in plenty.

The recent controversy regarding the sale of biomedical waste in Ahmedabad has once again created major concern for the hospital officials across the state. According to the state government norms, the hospital authorities should mandatory dispose the biomedical waste at the incinerators.  But when DNA visited SSG hospital premises, the scene was really disturbing.

London, Mar 3 : Working at night might make you fat, claim scientists, who found that unsociable working hours slow the body''s natural metabolism.

After closely monitoring people with disrupted sleep patterns, researchers discovered that working at night and sleeping during the day affects the body''s natural rhythms and slows down the rate it burns energy.

According to Harvard Medical School scientists, the result - known as circadian misalignment - could lead to increased risks from obesity, diabetes and even heart disease.

Circadian misalignment refers to the body''s own natural biological clock which regulates when we want to sleep, eat and wake, reports The Telegraph.

Washington, March 3 : Scripps research scientists say that a new vaccination method they have developed may be used to provide instantaneous protection against diseases caused by viruses and bacteria, cancers, and even virulent toxins.

Professor Carlos Barbas, III, says that tests on mice suggest that the vaccination method called covalent immunization can overcome a major drawback of vaccinations - the lag time of days, or even weeks, that it normally takes for immunity to build against a pathogen.

He revealed that his team tested the vaccination method on mice with either melanoma or colon cancer.

Washington, Mar 3: A popular smoking cessation drug has been found to effectively reduce alcohol cravings, claim researchers.

The study led by researchers from Yale School of Medicine has shown that heavy-drinking smokers were much less likely to drink after taking the drug varenicline.

They found that the group taking varenicline, sold under the name, Chantix, reported fewer cravings for alcohol and less intoxicated when they did drink.

Washington, Mar 3: Young children who spend more than two hours glued to the TV every day double their risk of developing asthma, a UK study has found.

The study, published in the journal Thorax, was based on more than 3,000 children whose respiratory health was tracked from birth to 11.5 years of age.

The children were all participants in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), which has been following the long-term health of 14,000 children and their parents.