OAK BROOK, Ill.,  Nov. 27 -- A U.S. study shows colorectal cancer deaths among men and women dropped 4.3 percent per year from 2002 to 2005, researchers said.

The study, issued annually since 1998 by the American Cancer Society, the National Cancer Institute, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries, said the incidence rate for colorectal cancer -- the rate at which new cancers are diagnosed -- dropped 2.8 percent per year among men and dropped 2.2 percent per year among women from 1998 to 2005.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.,  Nov. 27 -- Obesity gradually numbs the taste sensation in rats to sweet foods and drives them to consume larger and ever-sweeter meals, U.S. researchers said.

"When you have a reduced sensitivity to palatable foods, you tend to consume it in higher amounts," Andras Hajnal of the Pennsylvania State University said in a statement. "It is a vicious circle."

Previous studies have suggested that obese persons are less sensitive to sweet taste and crave sweet foods more than lean people, Hajnal said.

Washington, November 27: An American research team has found that retinal detachment, a condition that puts an individual at risk for vision loss or blindness, can be treated with using one of three currently available surgical techniques.

Los Angeles  - Many of the biggest stars in music are donating their names and talent to a new format digital magazine aimed at helping fight the spread of AIDS in Africa, it was announced Wednesday.

The idea of RED(WIRE) is an offshoot of the activist organization RED founded by U2 frontman Bono last year and all proceeds will benefit HIV-infected people in Africa.

Subscriptions to the magazine will cost 5 dollars annually. For this users will receive a new issue every Wednesday, featuring an exclusive song from a major musician, a song from a new performer and a multimedia presentation about how the organization is helping Africans in need.

Washington - A report by the nation's leading cancer organizations released Tuesday showed the first decline in 10 years in the incidence of new cases of cancer for both men and women.

The report was compiled by the National Cancer Institute of the government-funded US National Institutes of Health (NIH) and released online.

The decline was driven largely by declines in some of the most common types of cancer, according to the report. The death rate from cancer has been in steady decline over the past years.

The annual report on the status of cancer has been issued since 1998.

Boppard, Germany  - A party of sick British pensioners were isolated Tuesday aboard a river cruise boat, the Lady Anne, after German authorities put them under quarantine on the Rhine River.