Health

Well-timed exercise might improve learning

  (Reuters Health) – Aerobic exercise four hours after a memorization task, but not exercise right afterwards, was linked to improved recall in a series of Dutch experiments. Newly-learned information turns into long-term knowledge through a process of stabilization and integration of memories, the study team writes in Current Biology. This requires certain brain chemicals that are also released during physical exercise, including dopamine, noradrenaline (norepinephrine) and a growth factor called BDNF, they explain. “The […]

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Can coffee cause cancer? Only if it’s very hot, says WHO agency

  (REUTERS)  There is no conclusive evidence that drinking coffee causes cancer, the World Health Organization’s cancer agency said on Wednesday in a reverse of its previous warning, but it also said all “very hot” drinks are probably carcinogenic. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) had previously rated coffee as “possibly carcinogenic” but has changed its mind. It now says its latest review found “no conclusive evidence for a carcinogenic effect” of coffee […]

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Very hot drinks ‘probably’ cause cancer: UN body

  PARIS, France (AFP) — Drinking very hot beverages “probably” causes cancer of the oesophagus, the UN’s cancer agency said Wednesday, while lifting suspicion from coffee if consumed at “normal serving temperatures”. “These results suggest that drinking very hot beverages is one probable cause of oesophageal cancer and that it is the temperature, rather than the drinks themselves, that appears to be responsible,” said Christopher Wild, director of the International Agency for Research on Cancer […]

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El Salvador confirms first Zika-linked birth defect

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AFP) — El Salvador on Tuesday confirmed its first case of microcephaly in a baby that was linked to a Zika infection in the mother. Microcephaly is a birth defect that causes an abnormally small head and deformed brain. Health Minister Violeta Menjivar said the infant was born in April to a family living in the country’s central La Paz province, and the Zika connection was proved “a short while ago.” […]

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Whole grain consumption could lead to longer life: study

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — A diet that includes three daily servings of whole grains appears to help people live longer, including by reducing the rates of death from heart disease and cancer, according to findings released Monday. For each 16-gram serving of whole grains, public health researchers at Harvard University noted a seven percent decrease in overall risk of death, including a nine percent decline in risk of heart disease death and five percent […]

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Midlife fitness cuts chances of a stroke later in life

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The more fit people are when they reach middle age, the less likely they are to suffer a later-in-life stroke, according to new US research out Thursday. The findings, published in a journal of the American Heart Association, are based on a study of nearly 20,000 adults aged 45 to 50. The individuals, 79 percent of whom were men and 90 percent were white, were subjected to tests to measure […]

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Liberia Ebola outbreak to be declared over

MONROVIA, Liberia (AFP)–The latest Ebola outbreak in Liberia, the last country still affected by the deadliest flare-up in the history of the feared tropical virus, is to be declared over on Thursday. Liberia will have passed the World Health Organization (WHO) threshold of 42 days — twice the incubation period for the virus — since the last known patient tested negative for the second time. The Ebola epidemic began in Guinea in December 2013 and killed […]

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Thailand first in Asia to eliminate mother-to-baby HIV: WHO

BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) — Thailand has become the first Asian country to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV, the World Health Organization said Wednesday, a milestone in the fight against the disease. The announcement is a boost for a generation of Thai health workers who have transformed the nation from one of Asia’s most HIV-ravaged societies to a pin-up for how to effectively tackle the crisis. Describing the elimination as a “remarkable achievement”, the WHO said […]

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New US data system to centralize cancer information

CHICAGO, United States (AFP) — The US National Institutes of Health announced Monday the creation of a centralized data system to facilitate cancer research access and sharing. The Genomic Data Commons (GDC) will centralize, standardize and facilitate access to large-scale programs of the National Cancer Institute (NCI), such as The Cancer Genome Atlas — which has mapped important genetic mutations for 33 types of cancer — as well as its pediatric equivalent, Therapeutically Applicable Research […]

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Down’s syndrome ‘treated’ with green tea: study

by Marlowe HOOD PARIS, France (AFP) — A chemical in green tea has been shown to improve cognitive ability in persons with Down’s syndrome, scientists and doctors said Tuesday. In a year-long clinical trial, the treatment led to improved scores on memory and behaviour tests, they reported in a study, published in the The Lancet Neurology. The positive impact remained six months after the trial ended. Brain scans revealed that the compound, called epigallocatechin gallate, […]

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Lung cancer: Mobile app could extend life expectancy

by Jean-Louis Santini CHICAGO, United States (AFP) — A new mobile application could help doctors better provide care to patients with advanced lung cancer, perhaps even extending life expectancy, according to a study presented in the United States Monday. The app, named Moovcare, enables patient-doctor communication even at a distance, using remote monitoring to quickly detect relapses or complications. “This approach introduces a new era of follow-up in which patients can give and receive continuous feedback […]

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More than 2,000 Indians contract HIV after transfusions

  NEW DELHI, India (AFP) — More than 2,000 Indians contracted HIV over a 17-month period after receiving blood transfusions, data from the national AIDS body showed Wednesday. In response to a Right to Information request filed by Mumbai-based activist Chetan Kothari, the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) said 2,234 people had been infected between October 2014 and March 2016. The reply, which was shared with AFP Wednesday, was sent to Kothari last month after he […]

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