# Other health news_Part 1 24/02/09



## Admin (Feb 24, 2009)

_*Londg one this time as been behind in posting...*_

*All babies will have gene code mapped at birth within ten years*
Babies born from 2019 onwards will have their genetic code routinely mapped at birth, Jay Flatley, one of the world's leading genome sequencing experts has predicted. Dr Flatley, the chief executive of Illumina, the world's leading genome sequencing company, said technology capable of giving complete DNA read-outs at birth will be widely available within a decade.

*The secrets of a hot kiss*
If you always thought you had a special chemistry with your loved one, you may finally have been proved right. Researchers have found that a passionate kiss unleashes a complex chemical surge into the brain which makes a lover feel excited, happy or relaxed. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/article5683569.ece

*Cauliflower fans cheesed off with upstart broccoli*
It has been a staple of the Great British diet for centuries and reinvented itself with orange and purple varieties but the once popular cauliflower is feeling the heat. A bristly upstart from an Italian branch of the family is threatening to capture cauliflower's place between the roast potatoes and carrots on Sunday dinner plates. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article5689329.ece

*Obese first-time mothers run double low-weight baby risk*
First-time mothers who are obese are almost twice as likely to have premature and low birthweight babies and have a higher risk of pre-eclampsia, research suggests. Those with a body mass index (BMI) of more than 30 carry a particularly high risk, according to a study of 385 obese British and Dutch women in their first pregnancy. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article5689529.ece

*Ecstasy is nor riskier than riding a horse claims drug expert*
A leading drug adviser was facing calls to resign last night after claiming taking Ecstasy was no more dangerous than riding a horse. Professor David Nutt has already suggested the class A drug is less harmful than alcohol or tobacco.

*Trust your instinct*
Instinct may be more reliable than the conscious brain at making decisions, says a psychologist. A study has found evidence that most hunches are based on memories that lie just below the surface of the conscious brain. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencet...t-make-big-decision-Just-trust-instincts.html

*The good sex diet*
Not only can eating an unhealthy diet make you fat, it can also send your sex drive crashing, as nutritional deficiencies wreak havoc with your hormones and vital organs. Not only that but carrying too many excess pounds can kill your confidence and leave you feeling a flop in the bedroom.  http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2009/02/09/the-good-sex-diet-115875-21109018/

*Fish 'n' chips*
A fine bouquet of butterscotch, cocoa and cheese - with a hint of ironing board on the nose. No it is not the latest eccentric fine wine tasting but the aroma of chips, according to the latest research. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/new...over-why-aroma-of-chips-are-so-desirable.html

*Cannabis linked to testicular cancer*
The soaring rate of testicular cancer in the UK and other Western countries is linked today to the increased popularity of cannabis. Testicular cancer has more than doubled over the past 30 years and its rise parallels that of the use of cannabis, Britain's most popular illegal drug. http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-wellbeing/health-news/cannabis-linked-to-testicular-cancer-1604487.html

*MMR doctor fixed data on autism*
THE doctor who sparked the scare over the safety of the MMR vaccine for children changed and misreported results in his research, creating the appearance of a possible link with autism, a Sunday Times investigation has found. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article5683671.ece
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Eggs are not bad for you*
Going to work on an egg may be good for you after all. Fears that eating one egg a day will lead to high cholesterol and heart disease were challenged yesterday by scientific research. It seems that there is no reason after all for healthy people to limit egg consumption to three a week — even though nearly half of British people believe that this is the maximum recommended number.
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How taking risks with your money is in your genes*
Taking financial risks is in the genes, research shows. Scientists have pinpointed genes that increase the chance of anyone gambling with money - their own or someone else's. Researcher Joan Chiao asked 65 young men and women to play a computer game about investments.

*1 in 3 GPs won't work at abortion surgeries*
One in three GPs in England and Wales would refuse to work in surgeries or clinics that offered abortions, a new poll has shown. And almost two in three, 61 per cent, who responded to the survey, do not believe that practices should be offering them at all.
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Meningitis vaccine within two years*
A vaccine against meningitis B which kills around 100 children a year could be available within two years, manufacturers have said. Results from clinical trials carried out on UK children were 'very encouraging' and the vaccine is now in the final stages of testing.

*Empathy may be in genes*
Researchers believe that the ability to understand and share the feelings of others is at least partly innate and built into our bodies at birth. While upbringing and the environment can modify our behaviour, scientists believe that in extreme cases the gene or lack of it could play a key role in conditions such as autism where the ability to empathise is often non-existent.
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Gene therapy offers hope cure for HIV*
Doctors have succeeded in ridding a man of the HIV virus by giving him a bone marrow transplant in what they claim is the closest treatment yet to a cure for the disease.

*1 million Brits yank out their own teeth*
Three million hard-up people have been forced into dangerous DIY dentistry, it was revealed yesterday. A million have pulled out teeth with pliers or string tied to a door knob. Others have fixed crowns with household glue, burst ulcers with a pin, tried to mend or alter dentures and stuck down loose fillings with chewing gum.

*Exercise cuts colon cancer*
Taking exercise can cut the risk of the most common kind of bowel cancer by a quarter, research suggests. US scientists, who reviewed 52 previous studies, calculated the most active people are 24% less likely to develop colon cancer than the least active.

*Prostate cancer test identifies men most at risk from disease*
By counting the number of cancerous tumour cells in the blood, scientists could accurately predict survival and which patients would respond to treatments, according to an article in the journal Lancet Oncology. The test could be used in combinations with current methods to help judge the efficacy of new drugs as they go through clinical trials.

*Two-tier care a reality, health chief admits*
Guidance adopted last year means patients can choose to pay for drugs not provided by the NHS without losing their entitlement to have the rest of their care on the NHS. It led to fears of a two-tier NHS where those who can afford to pay get better treatment, although the Government has always denied that this will occur.

*We'll never cure common cold, say scientists*
The common cold may never be eradicated, scientists have said, but a breakthrough in mapping the virus's DNA could herald new treatments. Researchers said that a jab to prevent the bug, which is highly contagious, was unlikely, because it is too good at developing new strains. There is no known cure for the virus, which is responsible for making millions cough and sneeze every year and can also trigger asthma attacks.

*DNA secret of Neanderthals are revealed*
For the first time, the genetic blueprint of an extinct human species has been discovered. The implications, says Steve Connor, are extraordinary. Their lives may have been nasty, brutish and short but their DNA has survived long enough to be almost fully decoded in a pioneering study that has revealed just how closely related were the Neanderthals to modern humans.

*Gesturing at your baby will lead to improved vocabulary*
Scientists have found that pointing and gesturing at your child around the age of 14 months has a significant effect on its ability to make conversation when it reaches school age. They believe that the non-verbal communication between parents and child gives the baby's brain a major head start in learning to talk.

*NHS boss attacks e-records system*
A new NHS computerised medical records system on trial at a London hospital has been criticised by a hospital boss for causing "heartache and hard work".  Andrew Way, chief executive of London's Royal Free Hospital, said technical problems had cost the trust ?10m and meant fewer patients could be seen.


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