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.

Washington, Oct 28 : A new study has found that drugs widely used to treat type 2 diabetes can have long-term effects if they are used in moderation.

The research team from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis said that efficacy of drugs, sulfonylureas, used to treat type 2 diabetics substantially declines after several years of use, causing insulin secretion to shut down.

"Why this happens isn''t clear yet, but we''ve found what may be cause for hope," said senior author Colin G. Nichols, Ph. D., the Carl F. Cori Professor and professor of cell biology and physiology.

The age old saying- warm hands lead to a warm heart, has now been backed by science. A research was conducted by Lawrence Williams, an assistant professor of marketing at the University of Colorado, and John A. Bargh, a Yale University psychology professor.

It took the professor a few cups of coffee to prove his point. He says that the connection between warm hands and warm heart lies in our heads. 

Hot cup of coffee were given to a group who was asked to assess a stranger on kindness and generosity. A second group was given iced coffee and asked to assess the stranger on the same points.
 

A recent study shows that beginning HIV treatment early sharply improves the survival chances of the patients.

Research was conducted on 8,374 patients in USA and Canada. According to lead researcher Mari Kitahata of the University of Washington-Seattle, it was found that 70% HIV patients who are treated later are likely to die than the ones who receive early treatment.

Brussels  - The European Commission wants to ban smoking in bars and restaurants across the European Union, officials in Brussels said Monday.

However, discussions on a smoking ban in all of the member states' workplaces are still at the preliminary stage, meaning any new rules are unlikely to be implemented before 2010.

London, Oct 27 : Scientists from Hadassah Hebrew University Medical Centre in Jerusalem have successfully grown eggs from tissue taken from five-year-old girls suffering from cancer.

The breakthrough offers a ray of hope to childhood cancer sufferers who are often left infertile by the treatment, and are compelled to rely on donated eggs and sperm or adopting to have their own family.

The problem is especially difficult for children who develop cancer before they reach puberty because they cannot freeze their own eggs and sperm.