Health & WellnessS


Family

Low-fat dairy food may hurt fertility

Women who eat low-fat dairy foods may have a higher risk of infertility than those who treat themselves to full-fat ice cream or cheese, surprised U.S. researchers said on Tuesday.

They found that women who ate two or more servings of low-fat dairy foods a day had an 85 percent higher risk of a certain type of infertility than women who ate less than one serving of low-fat dairy food a week.

Women who ate one serving of high-fat dairy food a day were 27 percent less likely to be infertile than women who avoided full-fat dairy foods.

Health

Japan orders probe into Tamiflu after teenager user jumps to his death

The government has ordered an investigation after a boy who took Tamiflu made by Swiss firm Roche, jumped to his death from the building he lived in, officials said.

The 14-year-old boy was pronounced dead Tuesday after leaping from the 11th floor of a condominium in the northern Japanese city of Sendai, police said.

'According to our information, the boy woke up in the middle of night after taking the medicine,' a local police spokesman. A short time later the youth jumped off the building.

Attention

Cantaloupes recalled over salmonella

Washington - The Dole Fresh Fruit Co. recalled several thousand cartons of imported cantaloupes Friday after the fruit tested positive for salmonella.

The recall, which covers the Eastern United States and the Canadian province of Quebec, is the second sparked by salmonella fears this week.

Info

Prepackaged mushrooms recalled for E. coli

Natick, Mass. - BJ's Wholesale Club announced a voluntary recall of its prepackaged, private-label brand mushrooms on Wednesday after testing turned up possible trace amounts of E. coli bacteria.

Health

Oscar Mayer ready-to-eat chicken recalled

Kraft Foods Inc. on Friday recalled all packages of Oscar Mayer/Louis Rich chicken breast strips and cuts, expanding the scope of a Feb. 18 recall that resulted when tests found signs of possible contamination.

Stop

Risks of tainted food: Amid high-profile scares, FDA safety testing has fallen by half since 2003 -Money for War, but None For American Public Health

The federal agency that's been front and center in warning the public about tainted spinach and contaminated peanut butter is conducting just half the food safety inspections it did three years ago.

The cuts by the Food and Drug Administration come despite a barrage of high-profile food recalls.

Arrow Down

Scientific Body Backs Creation Of Human-Animal Chimeras

Scientists should be allowed to create human-animal hybrid embryos in the search for treatments for nervous system disorders, a Government advisory body said yesterday.

The Human Genetics Commission will give its unanimous backing to the research in a public consultation to be carried out later this year by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority.

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Big Pharma Merck set up offshore accounts to avoid U.S. taxes; settles with IRS for $2.3 billion

American pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. for years held offshore accounts in Bermuda to hold patents for two of its drugs, and then used the royalties from these patents as tax deductions in the United States.

On Wednesday, the company agreed to pay $2.3 billion to the Internal Revenue Service, settling a three-year tax evasion dispute.

Health

Synthetic Biology -- Genetic Engineering on Steroids

In the past 5 years, the science of genetic engineering has made giant strides. Starting from scratch using lifeless chemicals, scientists are now able to create viruses, such as the polio virus. Technically, viruses are not "alive" because they require cells to survive. But soon -- perhaps some time this year -- scientists expect to create bacteria, which are definitely alive. From there, it will be a short step to manufacturing new forms of life that have never existed on Earth before. This startling new enterprise is called "synthetic biology."

Bulb

Want to stop disease from spreading? Open a window

Washington - Preventing the spread of disease in a hospital may be as simple as opening a window, an international team of researchers reported on Monday.

The low-tech solution could help prevent the spread of airborne infections such as tuberculosis -- and ironically, old-fashioned hospitals with high ceilings and big windows may offer the best design for this, they reported.

They worked better than modern "negative pressure" rooms, with expensive design aimed at pumping out infected air, the researchers report in the Public Library of Science journal PLoS Medicine.