Life

Global database for women exposed to Zika

by Marlowe HOOD PARIS, France (AFP) — Swiss doctors have asked thousands of colleagues worldwide to provide data for the first global registry of women exposed to Zika, the team’s lead researcher said Tuesday. Such a database is urgently needed to better understand the deadly virus and how it is transmitted, said David Baud, a physician in the obstetrics research unit of the University Hospital in Lausanne. “Potentially thousands of pregnancies are affected worldwide,” he […]

Heart groups suggests people get up every now and then

  (Reuters Health) – People should get about 30 minutes of exercise each day to counteract the potentially harmful effects of being inactive for too long, according to a new statement from a leading U.S. heart group. Research suggests inactivity may be linked to increased risk for diabetes, other blood sugar problems, heart disease, stroke and an earlier death, according to the statement from the American Heart Association. “Be conscious of how much time you’re […]

Can season and place of birth influence celiac disease risk?

  (Reuters Health) – Winter babies and people born in places with shorter days and less sunlight might have a lower risk of developing celiac disease than peers born in warmer regions or seasons, a Swedish study suggests. About one in 100 people have celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder that damages the small intestine and interferes with the absorption of nutrients from food. People with celiac disease can’t tolerate gluten, a protein in wheat, rye […]

Food advertisements may work on children’s brains

  (Reuters Health) – Children make quicker decisions to eat “tasty” food and reward centers in their brains light up after watching food commercials on television compared to nonfood commercials, a small study finds. “Our past work has shown that reward centers of the brain ‘light up’ in response to familiar food and nonfood logos,” said lead author Amanda Bruce of the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City. “What this study adds is […]

Video monitors show most parents put babies to sleep the wrong way

  (Reuters Health) – Even when parents know they’re being watched, they still put babies to sleep in unsafe ways that are linked to an increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), a U.S. study suggests. Researchers analyzed nighttime video recordings taken in family homes when babies were 1 month, 3 months and 6 months old. On camera, the vast majority of infants were sleeping in an unsafe position or surrounded by items that […]

Ford plans self-driving car for ride share fleets in 2021

  (REUTERS)  Ford Motor Co plans to offer a fully automated driverless vehicle for commercial ride-sharing in 2021, the automaker announced Tuesday, expanding its efforts in driverless cars and ride sharing – two areas where rivals have already made inroads. To help speed development of self-driving cars, Chief Executive Mark Fields said Ford is hiking investments in Silicon Valley technology firms, tripling its investment in semi-autonomous systems, and more than doubling the size of its […]

Research finds Greenland shark can live for around 400 years

(Reuters) The Greenland shark, a big and slow-moving deep-ocean predator that prowls the waters of the Arctic and North Atlantic, can claim the distinction of being the planet’s longest-living vertebrate, with a lifespan perhaps reaching about 400 years. Its extremely sluggish growth rate, about four-tenths of a inch (1 cm) per year, had already tipped off scientists that it lived a very long time, and research published on Thursday (August 11) calculated the Greenland shark‘s […]

Virtual reality on the slopes

TEL AVIV, Israel (Reuters) — A team of Israeli air force veterans have developed augmented reality ski goggles meant to enhance the experience of zipping down the slopes, letting users play games and navigate and potentially help them avoid hazards. The developers tapped into their years of experience creating augmented reality visors for fighter pilots, along with their passion for outdoor sports, when they teamed up to form Israeli start up RideOn. The hi-tech goggles […]

China launches ‘hack-proof’ communications satellite

  (REUTERS) China on Tuesday launched the world’s first quantum satellite, which will help it establish “hack-proof” communications between space and the ground, state media said, the latest advance in an ambitious space program. The program is a priority as President Xi Jinping has urged China to establish itself as a space power, and apart from its civilian ambitions, it has tested anti-satellite missiles. The Quantum Experiments at Space Scale, or QUESS, satellite, was launched […]

Firms in aging Thailand bet on demand surge for robots and diapers

(REUTERS)  Thai elderly care robot Dinsow can not only keep track of your medication and video-phone your relatives, but can also exercise with you and even entertain you with its karaoke skills. Its manufacturer, CT Asia Robotics, is one of many Thai firms investing heavily in healthcare for the aged in a country where the working-age population will decline this year – a first among the emerging economies of Southeast Asia. By the end of […]

Confirmed – Canada’s first case of Zika-related defects in fetus

by Jeanete Duazo Eagle News Service Canada Bureau (Eagle News) — The Public Health Agency of Canada has confirmed the country’s first case of Zika-related defects in a fetus, withholding further information for privacy reasons.  It has  however, confirmed that the fetus had severe congenital neurological anomalies. This is the second Canadian case of maternal-to-fetus transmission occurred in a baby that was confirmed to have the virus and the first to which has been linked to […]

UN combats spread of cattle disease in Europe through early-detection training

  (UNITED NATIONS) The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) today started a programme to train European laboratory staff on how to use nuclear-derived techniques to detect lumpy skin disease – a highly infectious cowpox virus spreading across the continent. “Lumpy skin disease has always been considered exotic in Europe, therefore many laboratories in the region are not prepared to detect it, or to differentiate between its various strains,” said Giovanni Cattoli, head of the UN […]