Lifestyle

Washington, July 23: Feeling stressed or fretful? Try savouring the scent of lemon, mango, lavender or other fragrant plants to calm yourself.

Scientists in Japan are presenting the first scientific evidence that inhaling certain fragrances alter gene activity and blood chemistry in ways that can reduce stress levels.

Akio Nakamura, of Saitama University, Japan and colleagues note that people have inhaled the scent of certain plants since ancient times to help reduce stress, fight inflammation and depression, and induce sleep.

Washington, July 23: Indian scientists have created a skin gel made of silver nanoparticles that may help improve the treatment of burns and speed up healing.

The researchers led by Kishore Paknikar have said that the new formula could be a potentially safer alternative to silver-based gels applied to the skin of burn patients to treat infections.

With names like silver sulfadiazine and silver nitrate, these germ-fighters save lives and speed healing.

Seoul, July 23: A cheap typhoid vaccine that would be affordable for the poor in developing countries has proved highly effective in protecting pre-school children, an international health body said Thursday.

A study conducted in a slum district of the Indian city of Kolkata has also shown the Vi vaccine protects the unvaccinated neighbours of those treated, the Seoul-based International Vaccine Institute (IVI) said in a statement.

New York, July 23: A civic group working to cut the spread of cancer in the US has initiated a suit against the makers of hot dogs for not using cancer risk warning levels on the products.

According to 1010-WINS radio station, the NGO, Cancer Project, has initiated the suit in Newark, New Jersey, on the behalf of three people against four of the largest hot dog producers of the country for failing to warn consumers that hot dogs increase the danger of colorectal cancer.

Washington, July 23: The US is to start clinical trials of two vaccine candidates for swine flu, which has killed over 700 people worldwide, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) said Wednesday.

Eight university research hospitals will be involved in the trials, which will be compressed as the US races to have a vaccine ready before the possible resurgence of the A-H1N1 influenza in the fall, when the flu season is in full swing in the northern hemisphere.

New Delhi, July 22: Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad Wednesday said that there are 322 cases of swine flu in India, a sizable number of which were ‘imported cases’ from the US. He said the government is upgrading 16 more laboratories to tackle the virus.

‘So far we have 322 cases of influenza A (H1N1) in the country, of which 256 cases are imported cases. Currently we have two labs to test the virus and the government is upgrading 16 more labs to tackle the problem,’ Azad told the Lok Sabha during question hour.

Taipei, July 22: A Taiwanese government-funded research team Tuesday unveiled an organic compound that it says can kill swine flu and bird flu viruses in the environment to help prevent their spread.

The National Taiwan University team said the compound – which it has named “VirusBom” – can be made into a hand wash, a spraying agent or integrated into air filters and fabrics like facial masks to effectively kill a variety of viruses such as A(H1N1) swine flu and avian influenza and stop the spread of bacteria including those responsible for staph infections.

New Delhi, July 22: Government is not in favour of giving complete autonomy to prestigious All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) on the ground that if Director “goes berserk” the situation would be difficult to retrieve; Rajya Sabha was told on Wednesday.

Responding to Leader of Opposition Arun Jaitley’s observation that ministers control over AIIMS, Health and Family Welfare Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad asked “the question is to what extent” autonomy could be given.

Washington, July 22: India and China account for one third of the world’s total population older than 65 years of age and issues related to population ageing in the two countries will be “accentuated” in the coming decades, according to the latest report of National Institute of Aging.

The 65-and-older population in China and India alone numbered 166 million in 2008, nearly one-third of the world’s total,” said the report “An Aging World: 2008” of the US’ NIA.

Thimphu, July 22: Cordyceps, a peculiar health weed native to Bhutan and highly valued for its medicinal properties, fetches astronomical prices at the yearly auction. This year a man from Thimphu district got the highest price for his cordyceps – Rs.351,000 for a kg!

The price for cordyceps can be compared to the highest price that the best known Darjeeling tea fetches in the international market: the Silver Tips Imperial of Makaibari Tea Estate fetches only Rs.21,000 a kg. And the best of Kashmir’s saffron sells for not more than Rs.100,000.

Washington, July 22: A daily supplement of potassium citrate taken by kids on the high-fat ketogenic diet to control epileptic seizures can help prevent the resulting yet excruciatingly painful kidney stones, according to research.

The ketogenic diet is believed to work by initiating biochemical changes that eliminate seizure-triggering short circuits in the brain’s signalling system in children.

But the diet, which consists of high-fat foods with very few carbohydrates, causes a build up of calcium in the urine and the formation of kidney stones in about six percent of those on it.

Washington, July 22: Researchers have uncovered the first case of HIV almost certainly being transmitted by infected mothers to children through pre-chewed food.

The source of HIV in the pre-chewed food was most likely the infected blood in the saliva of the people who pre-chewed the food before giving it to the children.

The researchers said their findings suggest that HIV-infected mothers or other care givers should be warned against giving infants pre-chewed food and directed toward safer feeding options.

New Delhi, July 22: Himachal Pradesh-based farm produce exports major Himalaya International is entering the markets in north India, including the national capital, with a wide range of products including ethnic sweets, mushrooms made of imported spawn, and fortified milk, yogurt and cottage cheese.

“We will launch the same, premium all natural sweets that we market in North America, packed in our plant. Our products are good value for the Indian consumers too,” said managing director of the company Manmohan Malik.

Melbourne, July 22: Scientists have developed a new technique which can assess eye damage caused by diseases, like glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy and mascular degeneration, affecting millions of people globally, by examining the pupil.

An Australian team has developed the technique known as multifocal pupillography — the method involves monitoring minute responses of the eye’s pupils to light signals across different parts of the patient’s visual field.

London, July 22: A 73-year-old Indian origin philanthropist has donated £90,000 collected after an 800 km fund-rising walk for bowel cancer research here.

Balwant Singh Grewal, popularly known as ‘Bobby Grewal’ handed over to the money to St. Marks Hospital Foundation after his 800-km marathon walk last year.

Mr. Grewal, born in Punjab and migrated to Britain in 1958, had earlier donated £80,000 to the Foundation after his walk from Scottish Parliament building to the House of Commons in London.

Washington, July 22: The newest prognosis for cancer may be longer chemotherapy.

Doctors and pharmaceutical companies are moving toward treating cancer patients with drugs continuously, even when they may not urgently need them. That would be a departure from the common practice of stopping treatment when the cancer is under control and resuming it only if the cancer worsens.

New Delhi, July 22: As many as 322 swine flu cases have been reported in the country so far, with 234 of them being treated and discharged compared to 200 deaths reported in the US, Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said.

“This proves that swine flu is 100 per cent curable in so far as our country is concerned. … We are lucky that there have been no deaths in our country,” he told the Lok Sabha during Question Hour, noting that over 200 casualties were reported each in the US and Mexico, besides many more in the UK and Japan.

Lucknow, July 22: Your stars could have a bearing on your heart condition, says a study by astrologers.

As per Hindu mythology, every organ of the body is governed by one of the nine planets – which can have positive or negative effects. The Sun is considered the Lord of the Heart. July 22 is the day of the total solar eclipse – the century’s longest such celestial phenomenon.

Sydney, July 22: Risky driving habits are more likely to injure or kill youths in car crashes than older drivers, said a study based on a survey of 20,000 young drivers.

Researchers at The George Institute investigated the relationship between risky driving behaviour, risk perception and the risk of crash.

They reported that young drivers who had a poor risk perception or an inability to recognise driving risks were more likely to crash.

Seattle/Washington, July 22: The world’s largest coffeehouse chain Starbucks delivered earnings of $152 million for the second quarter, easily beating Wall Street expectations, the Seattle-based company reported Tuesday.

In the April-June period of 2008, Starbucks swallowed a loss of $7 million.

Revenue in the latest quarter was off nearly seven percent to $2.4 billion.

After many years of rapid expansion, Starbucks has lately closed hundreds of its underperforming stores and reduced its workforce in attempt to regain solid profitability.

–Agencies

New Delhi, July 22: Solar Eclipse Pregnant women, Pregnant women should be little more careful during the Solar Eclipse time. They should not expose themselves in the direct sun/moon light during solar/lunar eclipse.

Dark thick curtains can be put for windows and they should be safe. It is better to avoid even going to the open terrace during the course of the eclipse.

Solar Eclipse July 2009 time in India, Solar Eclipse July 2009 will be seen in India from 5.35 a.m. to 7.25 a.m. of July 22. and there will be a total eclipse for the duration of 6 minutes and 47 seconds.

Washington, July 22: Children born to tense and stressed parents are more likely to develop asthma and other allergies in the long run, a new study finds.

Stress has long been considered as a trigger for asthma attacks; Southern California University researchers, however, reported that parental anxiety and stress increases the risk of childhood asthma.

Children of tense parents, who lived in polluted areas, are more vulnerable to developing asthma compared to their peers in the same neighborhood.

These youngsters are also reported to be more stressed.

Sydney, July 22: Girls who undergo radiation therapy for childhood cancer are placed at an increased risk of developing breast cancer in the long run.

According to a study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, childhood radiation for treating cancers such as Hodgkin’s lymphoma is linked to a higher risk of breast cancer in later life.

The more radiation a girl receives, the higher her risk of developing tumors will become.

The risk, however, will sharply decline in women receiving high doses of radiation to the ovaries.

Kochi, July 22: Health clubs and aerobics centres are mushrooming in Kerala, which has the dubious distinction of having the second largest number of people in the country with metabolic disorders caused by obesity.

With increased awareness on the health risks posed by obesity, more and more Keralites are flocking health clubs, yoga classes and aerobics centres to shed the extra flab and keep themselves fit.

New Delhi, July 22: Fifteen more fresh cases, including six from here, of A(H1N1) flu were reported on Tuesday taking the total number of those affected with the virus to 323 in the country and a school in Pune was closed for a week due to a rise in the number of students with the disease.

With six fresh cases in the national capital, the total number of those affected with A(H1N1) flue crossed the 100-mark here. There are 105 reported cases in the city so far, out of whom 12 remained in the hospital.