Washington, October 28 : A positive outlook, lower stress levels, moderate alcohol consumption, abstention from tobacco, moderate to higher income and no chronic health conditions are some of the factors that underlie exceptional health in old age, according to a study.

Researchers from Portland State University, the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research, Oregon Health & Science University, and Statistics Canada surveyed 
2,432 older Canadians about their quality of life.

The few who maintained excellent health over an entire decade were considered "thrivers". 

Washington, Oct 28: A new study conducted on mice has found a link between the immune system and anxiety.

The research team from Rockefeller and Columbia universities have found that mast cells, which have an important role to play in immune system, directly influence how mice respond to stressful situations.

Previous study by Columbia University scientists had shown that mast cells travel to the brain from other organs early on in development.

"We now knew that mast cells resided in the brain but we didn''t know their function," said Rockefeller University''s Donald Pfaff, head of the Laboratory of Neurobiology and Behavior.

London, Oct 28 : You can call them experimenting or promiscuous, but according to a sex poll, an average Briton has had at least nine sexual partners.

The survey, conducted by ICM Research in Sept 2008 interviewed a sample of 1,044 UK adults, above 16 years of age.

The participants were asked to complete a confidential questionnaire, which was then placed in a sealed envelope. Also, the researchers conducted Interviews across the country and weighed the results to the profile of all adults.

According to the survey, only 20 per cent of the population have had more than 10 sexual partners, reports The Guardian.

Washington, October 28 : A University College London research team has reported the first known case of someone born without the ability to recognise voices, a rare condition which is scientifically known as phonagnosia.

The researchers are urging other people to come forward if they think they have also grown up with the condition.

Reporting the case in the online edition of the journal Neuropsychologia, the researchers revealed that a woman could not recognise people by their voice, including her own daughter whom she has great difficulty identifying over the phone.

London, Oct 28 : Here’s some good news for couples with a rocky bedroom life, scientists have created a new sex drug that works even faster than the commonly used Viagra.

Avanafil, dubbed as the “son of Viagra”, starts working within 15 minutes instead of 30.

Unlike Viagra that takes minimum eight hours to wear off, the new drug takes just an hour and a half.

“It’s less likely to cause classic Viagra headaches and similar disturbances,” The Sun quoted Prof Francesco Sasso as saying.

Sasso said that Avanafil could be used by even by men on drugs for heart problems.

Washington, October 28 : Scientists at The Scripps Research have identified an antibody that works against the gastric hormone ghrelin, which has been linked to weight gain and fat storage through its metabolic actions.

Research leaders Kim Janda and Eric P. Zorrilla say that their findings point towards a potentially novel treatment for obesity that would interfere directly with the some of the biological mechanisms determining weight.