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A reduction in syphilis, HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) was seen after peer-based prevention programs provided condoms and treated STIs among sex workers and their clients in addition to other activities, a study has found.

The study, led by Professor Prabhat Jha from U of T`s Dalla Lana School of Public Health and St. Michael`s Hospital`s Centre for Global Health Research (CGHR), examined the impact of prevention among female sex workers whose contact with male clients contributes substantially to new HIV infections in the general population.

Prophet Muhammad (saws) said: “Seeking Knowledge is obligatory upon every Muslim.” (Related by Ibn ‘Adiyy, Al-Bayhaqi & Al-Tabarani)

Though this Hadith is known and memorised by most Muslims, the essence, the amount, and the kind of knowledge referred to in this Hadith remains misunderstood by many.

An old joke about surgery – the operation is successful, but the patient is dead – can be applied to the latest rumpus in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The party managed to push Narendra Modi some distance towards his coveted goal of being the prime ministerial candidate. But, in the process, the party itself and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) headed by it have taken a number of crippling blows.

Afghanistan watchers fear that the current trends in the violence in that country would make 2013 as violent as 2011, which was the most violent since 2001. This has been mostly the result of the spring offensive codenamed ‘Khaled bin Walid’ announced by the Taliban on April 27.

In any case, even the winter months had seen continued violence as the U.S. and NATO forces began to withdraw their troops prior to 2014, including at time from places where the Afghan troops were not ready or equipped to take over responsibilities.

THE QUR’AN: 1. “We have enjoined on man kindness to his parents; in pain did his mother bear him, and in pain did she give him birth” (46:15).

2. “Thy Lord hath decreed that ye worship none but Him, and that ye be kind to parents. Whether one or both of them attain old age in thy life, say not to them a word of contempt, nor repel them, but address them in terms of honor. And out of kindness, lower to them the wing of humility, and say: ‘My Lord! bestow on them Thy Mercy even as they cherished me in childhood’ “(17:23-24).

Most Americans disapprove of US government”s snooping of phone lines, a new study has revealed. Americans approve of collecting phone records of only those who are suspected of terrorist activity. The survey conducted by Sarah Dutton, Jennifer De Pinto, Anthony Salvanto and Fred Backus of CBS; found that 75 percent Americans approve of federal agencies collecting phone records of people suspected of terrorist activity while 58 percent disapprove it for ordinary Americans.

A new study has revealed that medicinal plants found in Africa contain chemicals that may be able to stop the spread of cancer cells.

This is the conclusion of researchers following laboratory experiments conducted at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU).

The plant materials will now undergo further analysis in order to evaluate their therapeutic potential.

Just 5 percent of people, who use the bathroom, wash their hands long enough to kill the germs that can cause infections, a new study has revealed.

Researchers at the Michigan State University have found that 33 percent didn’t use soap and 10 percent didn’t wash their hands at all.

The study, based on observations of 3,749 people in public restrooms, suggested that fifteen percent of men didn’t wash their hands at all, compared with 7 percent of women.

A new study led by an India researcher has confirmed that low levels of vitamin D can trigger hypertension.

Although observational studies have already shown this link, a large-scale genetic study was necessary before the cause and effect could be proven, the annual conference of the European Society of Human Genetics (ESHG) said.

THE Islamic holy month of Ramadan begins at the sighting of the new moon in the ninth month of the lunar calendar. During Ramadan (which starts on July 9th this year) observant Muslims around the world abstain from food and drink between sunrise and sunset. Because it follows the lunar calendar, Ramadan shifts by 11 days a year in relation to the Gregorian calendar. In some places, like Saudi Arabia, that makes little difference to the number of hours a day Muslims must fast.

Washington, : A former National Security Agency (NSA) official has claimed that the agency’s phone data collection of all US Verizon customers is only a ‘tip of the iceberg’ as the estimates go as high as 20 trillion phone calls and mails by US citizens.

According to the Washington Times, William Binney has revealed that the collection can be traced back to the days of domestic surveillance following the attacks on September 11.

The findings are published in the journal NeuroImage. A new study has found more evidence that breastfeeding is good for the baby’s brain.

The study by researchers from Brown University, made use of specialized, baby-friendly magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to look at the brain growth in a sample of children under the age of 4.

A new study suggests that infants fed formula, rather than breast milk, experience metabolic stress that could play a part in the long-recognized link between formula-feeding and an increased risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes and other conditions in adult life.

Carolyn Slupsky and colleagues explain that past research showed a link between formula-feeding and a higher risk for chronic diseases later in life.

Gaps exist, however, in the scientific understanding of the basis for that link.

On Monday, Burmese President Thein Sein is due to visit the White House. The visit represents another milestone in recently burgeoning U.S.-Burma relations, and an opportunity to engage Thein Sein on the significance of respecting international human rights norms — such as protecting its minority Muslim population’s religious freedoms — to continued Burmese democratic reform. The country’s otherwise tainted record on religious freedom, including escalating communal violence, threatens to undermine its transition from one-party, autocratic military rule to more representative governance.

People who work in jobs that are physically demanding experience extremes of sleeping habits, according to a US research.

Such workers either experience shorter sleeping hours (fewer than six hours a night) or longer sleeping hours (longer than nine hours), said the research from a study from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

High heels may cause permanent injury, with most women suffering pain in just over an hour of wearing height-enhancing footwear, a new study has found.

Wearing the ill-fitted shoes can cause long-term damage including arthritis, stress fractures, and trapped nerves, which may even require surgery or steroid injections, consultant podiatrist Mike O`Neill warned.

Researchers at The College of Podiatry, UK, found that almost half of women have suffered foot problems after wearing an uncomfortable pair of shoes, but 43 percent will suffer in the name of fashion.

Voicing concern over the level of participation of minority children in education, an official panel has said that the percentage of Muslim community students is “insignificant” in educational institutions. It has suggested the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) issue advice to the state governments that minority community girls should be preferentially admitted in schools.

The panel has also favored setting up of model degree colleges in 90 minority-concentrated districts with full central assistance to the states.

While most Americans say religion is losing influence in the country, 75 per cent say American society would be better off if more Americans were devout.

According to a new Gallup survey, over three-quarters of Americans (77 per cent) say religion is losing its influence on American life, while 20 per cent say religion’s influence is increasing.

These represent Americans’ most negative evaluations of the impact of religion since 1970, although similar to the views measured in recent years, Gallup said.

Half of the smoking population in the country thinks smoking “within limits” is harmless, a survey by a private general insurance firm has found.

“Half of the smokers continue smoking as they feel doing so within limits does not lead to health issues,” the survey, `ICICI Lombard Smoking Habits 2013`, said.

A large portion of respondents (77 per cent) felt that smoking or limited puffing of cigarettes will not have any adverse impact on their health.

Washington, May 31 (ANI): Young people — both male and female — are the most likely targets of rape and other sexual assaults, a Penn State criminologist has claimed.

According to Richard Felson, professor of criminology and sociology, the most frequent victims of those assaults are 15 years old, regardless of gender, or the age of the offender.

Older people and women rarely commit the crime, but when they do, their most frequent victims are still 15 years old.

Half of the smoking population in the country thinks smoking “within limits” is harmless, a survey by a private general insurance firm has found.

“Half of the smokers continue smoking as they feel doing so within limits does not lead to health issues,” the survey, ‘ICICI Lombard Smoking Habits 2013’, said.
A large portion of respondents (77 per cent) felt that smoking or limited puffing of cigarettes will not have any adverse impact on their health.

Researchers have discovered a new flying dinosaur in China – roughly the same size as a chicken – that lived about 150 million years ago.

The creature was about 20 inches long. It had teeth and probably fed on insects, researchers said.

The dinosaur from the Middle-Late Jurassic period is providing scientists new understandings of how birds evolved, they said.

The dinosaur species called Aurornis xui lived about 150 million years ago, said Pascal Godefroit, lead author and researcher at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences in Brussels.

The tobacco epidemic is one of the biggest public health threats the world has ever faced. Mass media campaigns, graphic warnings and alternative crop options for tobacco growers can help stop or reduce the estimated 800,000-900,000 tobacco-attributable deaths per year in India, experts say.

According to Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) – India 2010, tobacco use is a major preventable cause of death and disease and is responsible 1 in 10 death among adults worldwide. Approximately 5.5 million people die around the world every year – with India accounting for nearly a fifth of this.

When Gaurav asked for a mobile phone, with all his classmates showing off their smartphones, his mother was unwilling to spend too much on something she believed was only good for making calls. She bought him a smartphone from a lesser known brand, for just upwards of Rs.4,000. But, did she consider how safe it was?

One key aspect of mobile phone safety that most people are unaware of is its SAR or Specific Absorption Rate value. It is a measure of the amount of energy absorbed by the body when exposed to radio frequency (RF) electromagnetic waves such as those emitted by mobile phones.

What’s the secret to living long enough to blow out at least 110 candles on your birthday cake?

Dr. Tom Perls, the director of the New England Centenarian Study at Boston University Medical Center, estimates there are approximately 200-300 of these “supercentenarians” in the world.

“People who live to that age are incredibly heterogeneous, as if they have some key genetic features in common that get them to an incredibly old age,” Perls told ABC News.

One commonality Perls’ studies have found – Approximately 90 percent of superagers are women.