No fast-food phenom: Ancient Egyptian mummies show signs of heart disease, scientists say

November 16th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Scientists have figured out the link between Alzhemier's disease and chronic heart failure, two leading causes of death. A team of US, Canadian and Italian bio-chemists and cardiologists, led by Johns Hopkins researchers, identified three changes in the chemical make-up of a key structural protein, called desmin, in dog's heart muscle cells.

November 12th, 2009 TORONTO - Scientists have come up with a fast, inexpensive dipstick test which can identify traces of pesticides in food and beverages. Their paper-strip test is more practical than conventional tests, producing results within minutes rather than hours by means of an easy-to-read colour-change, the scientists said.

November 11th, 2009 DUBLIN - A burial site in Ireland has revealed that brain surgery was being carried out in Ireland more than 1,000 years ago. A multitude of insights about life and death in Gaelic Ireland were gleaned following the discovery of an unknown medieval church and the graves of about 1,300 men, women and children who lived along the banks of the river Erne at Ballyhanna, Co Donegal, several hundred years ago.

November 11th, 2009 LONDON - People may no longer require to fast before having a cholesterol test, for a new study found that the results were just as accurate if the patient had eaten before the test. Cholesterol tests have long been a key part of assessing a patient's risk of cardiovascular problems and for decades patients have been asked to not eat food 12 hours prior to a test.

November 7th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Alternate-day fasting can be the right way lose weight and boost cardio-vascular health, experts from University of Illinois at Chicago have suggested. The conclusion was reached after observing 16 obese people-12 women and four men- who ordained to a 10-week trial of not eating any food every alternate day.

November 5th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Wondering how TV exposure leads to obesity in children? Well, then pay closer attention to the commercials, suggests a new study. In the study, researchers at the University of California-Davis examined the types of food advertisements seen by children watching English- and Spanish-language American television programs on Saturday mornings and weekday afternoons, which are high viewing times for children.

October 27th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new study has revealed that people living near a variety of restaurants, convenience stores, supermarkets and even fast food outlets, are less likely to be fat. On the contrary, people who live more than a half mile away from any food outlets are more likely to be fatter.

October 27th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Living near restaurants, convenience stores, supermarkets and even fast food outlets actually lowers your risk for obesity, according to a new study. Surprisingly, people who live more than a half mile away from any food outlets are the ones who tend to be fatter.

October 20th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Pairing a new approach to prepare ancient DNA with a new scientific technique developed specifically to genotype a cow, an international team of scientists has created a very accurate and widespread "family tree" for cows and other ruminants, going back as far as 29 million years. This genetic information could allow scientists to understand the evolution of cattle, ruminants and other animals.

October 6th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Fast-food restaurants have always been criticised for promoting unhealthy eating habits, with health campaigners calling for a ban on them. But a new study has shown that even imposing restrictions wouldn't help cut health risk among junk food lovers.

September 30th, 2009 LONDON - An autopsy that started in 1825 has finally reached a conclusion, determining that the cause of the death of an ancient Egyptian mummy was tuberculosis. The mummy, of a woman named 'Irtyersenu', who died in Thebes around 600 BC, aged about 50, was discovered by Dr Augustus Granville in 1825.

September 26th, 2009 NEW DELHI - If you binge on junk food, smoke and don't exercise, you are at risk of developing heart diseases in your thirties. According to doctors, about 46.9 million Indians between 20 and 69 will suffer from heart diseases by 2010 and half of them will be youngsters.

September 26th, 2009 LONDON - Three-quarters of British children are unaware they are risking an early death by bingeing on junk food, says a new survey. The shocking poll found that 73 per cent of eight to 15-year-olds did not know a poor diet could shorten their lifespan.

September 21st, 2009 MELBOURNE - Scientists hope that the harvesting of what they call "booster broccoli"-containing more vitamins and nutrients than other vegetables-will soon begin. Bred from strains of the vegetable naturally high in antioxidants, it joins a growing crop of "super foods" that are believed to be good enough to prevent heart disease, cancers and degenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and help weight control.

September 1st, 2009 LONDON - Overweight and obese kids as young as 12 are showing early signs of heart disease, warn Spanish researchers. During a study, scientists in Barcelona analysed 80 obese and overweight kids with an average age of 12 and compared them with 60 lean youngsters.